Healthcare student at Moray College UHI in the running for Student of the Year with the Federation of Holistic Therapists
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A MORAY College UHI healthcare student is in the running for the UK-wide Student of the Year Award 2021 with the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT).
Anya Rae, a third year BSc (Hons) Integrative Healthcare student, is one of only three finalists across the UK up for the award.
The FHT is the largest governing body for complementary therapies. Members are celebrated at their annual Excellence Awards showcase, which recognises the real difference professional therapists make to the health and wellbeing of others in local communities.
Anya decided to retrain to become a professional therapist more than two years ago and has already made a name for herself in the industry, having opened the Ayrshire Healing Centre in May 2021 – a multi-disciplinary centre for balancing mind, body and spirit – after receiving entrepreneurial funding.
She has also set up the Community Wellbeing Hub (CWH) aimed at improving mental wellbeing in teenagers and offers free weekly workshops to secondary school pupils that is funded by the National Lottery.
Anya receives referrals from the NHS for person-centred care for clients who normally have long term chronic illness or disease, and outside of her career and studies has represented Scotland in the World Taekwondo Championships, where she took home a gold and bronze medal.
She said: “I applied for the FHT Student of the Year and was very surprised to be in the final three.
"It’s very nice to be in the final selection across the UK as I only started retraining just over two years ago and everyone else seems to have been in the business for decades.
"It has been a crazy two years of completing my HNC and then HND at my local college in Ayrshire while simultaneously studying for my meditation teacher training alongside various other CPD opportunities including sound therapist, NLP coach, holistic coach, past life regression practitioner and developed my Reiki training to become a Reiki Master so I now teach Reiki courses every month.
"I’ve just started my third year of the University of the Highlands and Islands’ Integrative Healthcare degree at Moray College but will be considering going into fourth year in 2022.
"I study full-time and because of the blended learning approach of the course I can stay living in Ayrshire while gaining a degree through UHI.
"So far, my student experience has been intense but enjoyable and rewarding. If I had any advice to anyone considering studying, it would be: Do it!”
Winners of the FHT Excellence Awards will be announced week commencing Monday, November 22.
