Meet the students
Thanks to your generous support, we are able to offer scholarships, student aid, and awards that help us attract and nurture the brightest students, regardless of financial challenges. Read on to meet four talented students who, thanks to your generosity, are pursuing their dreams of an Exeter education.
Meet Matthew and Elle
Established in 2018 by Ric and Dianne Piper in memory of their daughter, the Laura Piper Award creates a lasting tribute to Laura who was extremely proud to have studied Law at Exeter.
This special scholarship supports the highest-achieving senior scholar in the Pathways to Law programme, ensuring Laura’s memory lives on through the success of a growing community of talented students. There is now an impressive community of 15 scholars who have been supported through the Laura Piper Award.
Matthew Joliffe, the seventh recipient is passionate about immigration and human rights law and aspires to become a barrister. He shares how the scholarship is enabling him to get closer to his goal:
“Being financially independent at university, the Laura Piper Award has given me a crucial safety net. It has freed me to focus on my passion for human rights law and my work with the Law Society, bringing my goal of becoming a barrister much closer. This support is what allows me to fully engage with the incredible opportunities Exeter offers, such as serving as the Bar Coordinator for the University of Exeter Law Society”.
Meet Matthew and Elle
Established in 2018 by Ric and Dianne Piper in memory of their daughter, the Laura Piper Award creates a lasting tribute to Laura who was extremely proud to have studied Law at Exeter.
This special scholarship supports the highest-achieving senior scholar in the Pathways to Law programme, ensuring Laura’s memory lives on through the success of a growing community of talented students. There is now an impressive community of 15 scholars who have been supported through the Laura Piper Award.
Matthew Joliffe, the seventh recipient is passionate about immigration and human rights law and aspires to become a barrister. He shares how the scholarship is enabling him to get closer to his goal:
“Being financially independent at university, the Laura Piper Award has given me a crucial safety net. It has freed me to focus on my passion for human rights law and my work with the Law Society, bringing my goal of becoming a barrister much closer. This support is what allows me to fully engage with the incredible opportunities Exeter offers, such as serving as the Bar Coordinator for the University of Exeter Law Society”.
The award’s impact extends far beyond graduation. Elle Clarkson, the fifth Laura Piper Scholar, graduated from her Law LLB with European Study (2025) and is now pursuing a career in international or public law. Her experience demonstrates how the Pipers’ gift creates a ripple effect, empowering graduates to go on to make a meaningful impact:
“The Laura Piper Award had a great impact on my time at Exeter because it removed the financial burden that often limits students. This allowed me to make the most of every opportunity, from my year abroad understanding different legal systems to being actively involved in both academic and athletic societies. That well-rounded experience is exactly what prepared me for a career in public or international law”.
Meet Rina
Rina Culverhouse, a recipient of the London Metal Exchange (LME) Scholarship, completed her MSc in Minerals Processing at Exeter (2025), shares how her scholarship not only eased the financial burden of her studies, but also encouraged her to aim higher and make the most of every opportunity.
This autumn, she will embark on her professional journey as a Graduate Materials Engineer in Major Projects at Balfour Beatty’s head office in London.
Through her MSc she has grown professionally and personally. From the exposure to lab-work procedures to being able to learn and understand how to use new software packages, and she feels confident and competent in both office and laboratory settings.
She remains deeply grateful for the support from LME.
“Beyond the financial impact, receiving this award has been a source of personal motivation, proving that my commitment to always doing the best I can and maintaining the high standards I expect of myself is worth the investment of the scholarship.”
Rina Culverhouse.
View of Botallack Crown engine houses seen on a hike of the South West Coast Path near St Just, March 2025. A fabulous site to see the legacy of Cornish mining.
Visit to LME offices in December 2025 with fellow MSc students and Oscar.
The Camborne Women’s Team at awards night, March 2025, with the champion’s trophy.
Jack leg drilling into a concrete block at King Edward Mine at IMG training.
Early morning training at King Edward Mine in January 2025 with views of the hand steel blocks and an engine house.
Meet James
James Chatfield began his academic journey at Exeter as a Marine Biology undergraduate. During his studies, his passion grew for marine conservation and for how ecological understanding can inform conservation efforts.
James is now the proud recipient of the Osborne-Harvey Studentship pursuing a PhD in Marine Turtle Conservation supported by alumnus Neil Harvey (Accountancy Studies, 1985) and Sally Osborne. James shared what receiving this scholarship has meant for him:
“This funding has been key in both my personal development as a researcher, and in furthering our knowledge of the ecology of Mediterranean green turtles, and how we can continue local successes in their conservation”.
“Our work, supported by this funding, investigating the genetics and life histories of this unique population will provide insight into issues that are key for future conservation efforts, especially in a changing climate.”
James, Marine Biology.
James holding a hatchling turtle.
James showing a new volunteer how to take a skin biopsy sample for his later genetic analysis.
This female green turtle is the largest individual who has been recorded nesting on Alagadi by the project.
James is currently working to understand the life history variation of Mediterranean green turtles, which nest on Alagadi beach in Northern Cyprus. James’ research focuses on the exploitation and status of marine turtles, utilising satellite tracking and mark and recapture to understand the thermal ecology, sex ratios, habitat use, navigational abilities, growth rates and fecundity of individuals. Given the importance of the thermal environment on these reptilian species, the potential effects of global climate change are a major issue and focus of James’ research.
James’ supervisor Professor Annette Broderick shared:
“Understanding how marine turtles are impacted by threats such as fisheries and climate change requires knowledge of their life history, especially how long they live and how long they breed. The little information we do have suggests they may well live longer than humans, but there have been no studies long enough to find out! The genetic analysis that James is conducting for his PhD will examine the relatedness of individuals and from this allow us to estimate how long they live, giving us the data we badly need for conservation assessments”.
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