A DALGETY Bay mum-of-three scooped an award for academic excellence in podiatry at Queen Margaret University’s (QMU) recent graduation ceremony in Edinburgh.

Mature student Samantha Moodie (42) was presented with the prestigious Canonbury Award for Academic Excellence for top student of the year – Canonbury being one of the UK’s podiatry product specialists.

Samantha, who graduated from QMU earlier this month with a first-class BSc (Hons) degree in podiatry, worked for the Royal Mail in Edinburgh for over 22 years before deciding to change her career path. She said, “After having my family, I thought it was time for a change in career, so I decided to throw down my post-bag and study podiatry at QMU.

“I couldn’t have done it all without the support of my husband.

“I’ve had the opportunity to learn from some of the best people in the field, who have taught me all I know about podopaediatrics.

“Podopaediatrics is an area of podiatry focusing on the treatment of children and the various afflictions that can affect a young person’s lower limbs.

“With QMU being a small and modern university, it provides fantastic support to students. I now feel confident to move forward into my field of study and look forward to the next challenge.” The mum of three boys, Arran (seven), Angus (13) and Struan (15), now plans to start working in the field of podiatry and, in the future, hopes to go on to further study by completing a master’s or PhD in podiatry.

Throughout her studies at QMU, Samantha received letters of commendation from the Board of Examiners for academic performance between 2011 and 2013 – obtaining many Academic Excellence awards such as the Galderma Award for Academic Excellence, Gilbert Oliver Norrie Memorial Prize for Clinical Studies and the MJ McKenzie Swanson Memorial Prize for Disorders and Management.