LAURA TOOGOOD

Award Year: 2007

Course: Information Studies & Classics

Activities: University Observer; Fashion Show; Equestrian Club

Occupation: Founder of Fieldmaster Group; Author

I was once told that your university days are the best days of your life and nothing could be truer when it came to my time at Belfield. While lectures were an important part of college life, there was also so much more on offer than simply the chance to study.

Among my annual highlights was the Intervarsity National Equestrian Championships, which was held in a different – and usually remote – part of the country each year. We were a ferociously competitive club and lifted the trophy many times. This event was also a fantastic social occasion: fancy dress competitions were just as important as the dressage championships and you could bond with many fellow students from all walks of life over a pint of Guinness.

The same can be said for the legendary UCD Fashion Show, although the Guinness would be swapped for a trendy cocktail! During my time on campus, the Fashion Show would give any of the world’s major Fashion Weeks a run for their money, and it was the largest student fashion show in Europe. Nothing could quite compare to strutting down the catwalk at The Point in front of a crowd of 10,000 people, with paparazzi dazzling you with flashes at the end of the runway. There was a tremendous amount of camaraderie and the producer, Julian Benson, made all models feel like superstars.

Similarly, the University Observer provided a platform for aspiring journalists to write riveting features and interview some of the world’s most famous names. As Sports Editor, I had the privilege of interviewing Lions rugby star Brian O’Driscoll and Olympic medallist Derval O’Rourke. Both were former UCD students - there are few universities that can provide access to such distinguished sportspeople.

I initially enrolled at UCD for a three-year undergraduate degree but I loved it so much that I ended up staying for seven years and completed my PhD at Belfield as part of the Ad Astra Scholarship programme. I wish I could turn back time and do it all again. Those seven years were definitely some of the best of my life and it was a place where you really could reach to the stars.