The Google Student with Disabilities Scholarship - Daniel Kelly

The Google SwD Scholarship is a scholarship for 10 university students with a disability who are awarded a lump sum of €7000 towards their tuition and / or educational equipment who –

• Have achieved excellent academic results
• Have a passion for Computer Science
• Have leadership skills
• Are studying a Computer Science Degree in a European University.

How did you come across the Google Scholarship?
I came across the Google Scholarship by my membership of EmployAbility, an excellent service which assists university students with disabilities in gaining internships, scholarships and employment.

Overall, how did you find the experience of working on the application for the scholarship?
My experience of the application process for the Google Scholarship was that it was extremely efficient. Once I sent in my application they contacted me 3 times, to check I was eligible, to say I had progressed to the final round and then to say I had been awarded the Google Scholarship.

Did you face any challenges during the application process? If so, how did you overcome these challenges?
The greatest challenge I faced with my application for the Google Scholarship was twofold. First, it was the size of the application with it requiring me to submit my Resume, Academic Transcript, two references and my answers to a series of essay questions posed by Google.

Secondly, I wasn’t sure if I met the requirement of achieving excellent academic results due to my previous poor health affecting my results. This was resolved with my tutor who was one of my references clearly explaining the effect my ill health had had on my academic results.

What do you feel you took away from the experience of applying for the scholarship?
The experience I took from in applying and winning the SwD Scholarship was in learning what makes a winning SwD Scholarship application by –

• Reading the Terms & Conditions, while this may seem boring it actually clearly stated the criteria candidates would be judged by with this allowing me to plan my application around it.
• Making their job easy by clearly presenting the relevant information in which they judge applications. They will likely be dealing with many applications you want to make their life as simple as possible given they decide who gets the Scholarship.
• If you require references, use references like mine who knew me very well and could speak confidently about me.
• Use precise, clear wording, e.g. “I achieved X by doing Y as measured by Z” is what Google advises when writing an application. Also constantly refer to the criteria you are being judged for when giving examples.
• Not submitting in haste, I spent weeks perfecting my application.

In hindsight, is there anything you feel you would’ve done differently having completed the scholarship?
If I were to apply for the Scholarship again, what I would do differently is that at the very last moment one of my references wasn’t able to provide me with one. This triggered a huge panic in me which is entirely my fault as I had completely forgotten to check if he was still able to be my reference.

However, I was, fortunately, able to find another who was available. From this experience, my advice is to check, double-check and then triple check to see that everything is in order.

Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for students who would be looking to do such a scholarship like the one with Google?
I would definitely encourage every university student with a disability studying Computer Science to apply. It’s free to apply with you potentially winning €7,000.

However, I would only encourage those students who can point to concrete examples that they meet the Scholarship criteria to apply. For example, in demonstrating my leadership skills I was able to talk about my membership of the Trinity Hiking committee and the TCD Disability Ambassador Programme.

As a recent graduate of Trinity, is there anything you would have liked to have seen from such a group as the Trinity Ability Co_op during your time in college (e.g. events throughout the year, blogs, articles, projects, etc.)?
With no disrespect meant towards the TCD Careers Service, I have found their Resume advice not helpful and incorrect. Indeed I actually devoted the 2019 Summer in learning about the different Resume formats, styles and types out there. Why I did this is that I believe both then and now that a well written & laid out Resume & Application is the difference between success and failure with my winning the Google SwD Scholarship I believe direct proof of that. The Ability co_op collaborating with the TCD Careers Service in creating effective resume workshops would be a great project.