There are simply too many ways to express the profound impact participating in the DofE awards scheme has had on me. I always loved the outdoors but never had the opportunity to see the pure natural beauty of Scotland. The scheme made me realise I had talents that I never acknowledged myself, thus allowing me to pursue them in several situations helping me to cope with the strict limitations imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Even though the weather was not on our side, especially during Silver, the sounds of laughter and terrible singing was like music to my ears. I could not have asked for better teammates throughout all of my expeditions - within our team, we each had a different role to play. These roles were things we felt we were individually good at and would help our team gel brining out the best in each other. We all agreed that the most important qualities to achieve this goal were patience, encouragement, determination and positivity.

Despite the very sad passing of the Duke of Edinburgh, his legacy of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme remains ingrained in young people, inspiring them to have the confidence to gain skills they may not even know they had, so that they will be able to push past whatever barriers life throws at them.