Rosalind McConville - Story Competition Winner - 10 Years On

Rosalind McConville was one of the Year 10-11 Winners of the Story Competition in 2008. We caught up with Rosalind to find out what she is doing now:

Rosalind McConville

Q And can I also just confirm that you have

Dyslexia

Can you please tell me what lead you to take part in the altformat Story Competition back in 2008

The SENCO in school had come across it and suggested to Rosalind that she do it. Rosalind thought it was an interesting idea for people who were having such difficulties, to promote a positive side of it.

What was the inspiration behind your winning entry ‘Fallen From Grace’

Struggling to remember! It was a diverse narrative, not straightforward linear story, Rosalind was interested in the concept and then putting the story to it.

Can you please tell us about being presented with your award by Sir Steve Redgrave at the House of Commons

Rosalind was unfortunately on holiday with her family in Boston at the same time as the Awards Ceremony. So her brother went in her place – he had a great day out! He was a competitive swimmer at the time, so he really enjoyed meeting Sir Steve.

And can you remember what you and/or your school won as a prize?

Rosalind won software which was really good and she used it up through Uni. She thinks the school received the software as well, and there was also prize money.

What was the immediate impact on you and/or your school of winning the competition?

“It was a major confidence booster winning something like that, especially when it is something that you are so insecure about - having dyslexia – and it being suffocated that creative side of you. To know that you can still do things like this and you can still have this creative flurry and use words - it’s empowering to win something like that”

Can you tell us a little bit about what you did in terms of studying and/or work after finishing school?

After school Rosalind went to Queens University in Belfast and did film studies.

And what are you doing now?

Rosalind works within the Digital Media Team for Santander. A wee bit of creative work. She uses read/write software sometimes. Santander as a company are absolutely phenomenal with their disability/dyslexia support. There’s a lot of additional softwares that she’s been given, which are a big helping hand.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

The competition was a great thing - a really, really positive thing when someone is in that ‘in between’ stage, where you don’t really know who you are and whether it’s a gift to be given something like dyslexia, or a hindrance. It was great to get a little boost that make it a positive thing in your own mind.

#Dyslexia #StoryCompetition #Writing 'Accessibility #a11y