It goes without saying that this is the time to applaud the work of our BCT Founder and Managing Director Paul Burgum. Four years ago, as a mature student, Paul embarked upon an ambitious plan, firstly to undertake a Foundation year with Durham University and then go on to undertake a three year degree in Applied Psychology at the University.
Paul has been a dedicated student and, alongside running BCT Aspire, writing books and public speaking, all his hard work in his studies has paid off. Paul has just graduated, albeit virtually, with a First Class Honours degree in Applied Psychology which is an astounding achievement alongside being awarded the David Kleinman Dissertation Award for his work examining the personality and cognitive strategies employed by long distance runners. This dissertation built on work he completed during a two year Laidlaw Research Scholarship whilst as Durham.
Paul has now taken on his next challenge – that of studying for a PhD in the Applied Psychology Department. His field of research for his doctorate will be to explore psychological coping strategies that long-distance polar expeditors use to deal with the extreme cold, wind, light fluctuations and challenging ground conditions that are found in polar region also known as “Resilience in the Artic”. Yes that sounds like our Paul – so we want to take this opportunity to say many congratulations from all at BCT Aspire and good luck with your new goals!
