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Student of the Year turns hobby into dream career

An Oswaldtwistle designer, who spent years experimenting with graphic design, has been crowned Student of the Year twice over after scooping two prestigious awards.

Former Blackburn College student Lawrence Rhodes was awarded both the Level 3 Graphic Design Student of the Year and clinched the overall Student of the Year title at the recent Creative Arts Awards held by the College at the popular Blakely’s café bar, Blackburn.

Lawrence, 26, who is now fulfilling his dream working as a graphic designer for local company RUComfy said: “I feel amazing! This award really has made all the hard work worthwhile.”

“I’m going to keep the trophy on my desk to remind me that working hard pays off!”

“I always loved designing and used to spend the majority of my free time experimenting with graphic design.”

“After a few years I thought what I was producing as a hobby was actually quite good. That’s when I decided that it was time to study the subject.”

“I had heard good things about Blackburn College from friends and family and it exceeded all of my expectations. The course and the fantastic support from the tutors have enabled me to go on and be successful at the job I do now.”

“Given the current climate, I think it’s more important than ever that students get as much experience of the world of work as possible whilst studying. Which is why I wanted to give something back. Recently I set a ‘live’ brief to Year 1 students to design a character to be used on RUComfy’s new beanbags.”

”I owe everything to Blackburn College and to the people who helped me to get to where I am.”

“I’m really enjoying my job but the next step is to return to the College and study a part-time degree in graphics at UCBC, which I know will lead on to more great things!”