Manchester united and England star Marcus Rashford is set to become the youngest ever person to receive am honorary doctorate award from the university of Manchester for his campaign against child poverty.
The 22-year-old is to be awarded for his campaign that forced the government into providing free school meals to 1.3million children. Marcus Rashford first presented his campaign to the government of England but it was rejected as the government did not find it necessary to finance such a project. This didn’t however didn’t halt the English man’s tracks into fighting for children’s rights, he instead penned down an open letter which forced the government into a public U-turn.
The award Rashford is set to receive is the highest honor the university can bestow.
Rashford joins Manchester united legends sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton as the only people associated with Manchester united to have received the award.
The England star feels proud of himself and his family for the achieved milestone and says it’s so humbling winning such an award that has been won by legends.
Rashford, “ It’s a proud day for myself and my family. When you look at the great names that have been awarded this doctorate in the past, it’s humbling.
We still have a long way to go in the fight to combat child poverty in this country but receiving recognition from your city means we are heading in the right direction and that means a lot. Thank you to The University of Manchester.”
The vice chancellor Mr. Dame Nancy Rothwell who is also the president of the University of Manchester was full praise for Rashford’s extraordinary services both on the pitch and off it. He said that The striker’s campaign is set to help countless young people. “”Marcus is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary talent and drive that stretches well beyond the football field. His work for charity and his high profile campaign will not only help countless young people across our own city, but across the entire country. Our university has social responsibility at its core and this sense of civic pride and duty is something we are proud to share with Marcus. That is why the University is delighted to make Marcus our youngest ever recipient of an honorary degree.” – Dame Nancy said.
Rashford also received praise from his coach Ole who hipped praise on the youngster’s personality and also hopes Rashford can maintain that for the rest of his life. Here is what ole Gunnar Solskjaer had to say “We’re so proud of Marcus and, I’ve said it a few times, what a great person he is and a great human being. “He cares so much more about others than himself, with the work he’s done.
“We’re very proud of him and hopefully he’ll keep his personality for the rest of his life and be himself.”
