Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award celebrations at Buckingham Palace
Earlier this month, Student Doctor Erin Powell attended a special, invite-only event at Buckingham Palace. Hosted by The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, this occasion celebrated young people who have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and resilience to complete their Gold Duke of Edinburgh award.
The Buckingham Palace Garden was transformed into a festival-style celebration for young people and their loved ones, with giant deckchairs, bunting, and garden games and activities. Attendees had the chance to hear from famous DofE Award holders and broadcasting legends, and pick up career advice from actors, presenters, authors, and campaigners, at stages throughout the garden.
A Gold DofE Award is a major achievement – young people spend at least 12 months honing new skills and talents, planning and completing an expedition and residential, and volunteering for a cause they are passionate about. Erin initially signed up to do her bronze DofE Award five years ago when she was looking for something fun to do with her friends outside of studying. After completing this, Erin got the bug and continued on to achieve her Silver and then Gold Awards.
The challenges during the three awards taught me a lot about myself and how I react to different situations. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me a lot of experiences I would otherwise have not had. So much of the programme is directly transferrable into real life and will help me as I go through university and into my career.
Erin first came to Liverpool on a residential experience as part of her Duke of Edinburgh pursuits and loved the city from that moment on. Now, about to complete her first year at the School of Medicine, Erin continues to challenge herself balancing her medical passions and personal interests. She recently took up running, (an activity she previously passionately hated) and aims to be running 10km by this summer, stating that “the promise of a sausage roll is enough motivation to run around Sefton Park!” Next year, Erin is looking forward to going on placement, spending more time with patients and bringing to life all the theory she has learned.
Ruth Marvel, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: "A Gold DofE Award is a remarkable achievement. Many young people attending today have overcome their own challenges to make it here – all of them have shown huge perseverance and self-belief and gained skills and memories to last a lifetime. They should all be incredibly proud.
We’re grateful to The Duke of Edinburgh for hosting young people this week, in his first celebrations since becoming the DofE’s Patron.
Like his father Prince Philip, The Duke passionately believes that all young people have the potential to achieve incredible things given the right support and opportunities.
Under his patronage, we’ll keep working to give as many young people as possible the chance to do their DofE and, hopefully, find themselves celebrating this amazing achievement in years to come."