About Nicola
Nicola was born in Yeovil, Somerset, on 20th June 1988 and attended Millfield Preparatory school in Glastonbury. Her father, Colin, died of cancer when Nicola was 17 months years old and although initially Nicola and her mother continued to live in Somerset, they eventually decided to move to Northern Ireland to be closer to family. Nicola finished her education at Methodist College Grammar school in Belfast. As well as a gifted student academically, she played chess on an All-stars team for Ireland, and was a member of the school first chess team that won the Irish Schools chess championships. She also played on the school 1st tennis team that won the Northern Ireland schools tennis championships and for these two sporting achievements, she was awarded double school honours. Nicola also sang in the school choir and played the clarinet.
Before starting her medical degree at King’s College London, she took a gap year to do some travelling. Among the highlights of a wonderful year visiting Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America she accompanied the Irish team to the Special Olympics in Beijing as part of the Irish Organising committee and worked in a hospital in Monkey Bay in Malawi, running a dressing clinic and helping at the pharmacy. There she witnessed first-hand the extremely high rate of HIV/AIDS and the devastating effect this had on the lives of so many in this poor area of Africa.
Nicola had several offers to study medicine, but Kings was most definitely her first choice, due to its worldwide recognition of excellence as well as its proximity to the West End due to her great love of the theatre!
She started her medical degree in September 2008 and continued her interest in academic as well as practical medicine. Making use of all that London has to offer she was a student member of the RSM (Royal Society of Medicine) and a very regular attendee at the Royal Institution Discourses on a Friday evening, dressed as tradition demands, in Black Tie!
At the end of her first year, she was awarded one of the 5 first prizes for her SSC (Student Selected Component).
By her second year she had developed a strong interest in Psychiatry and was the President of the Student Psychiatry society. She also attended many residential courses in Psychiatry & Psychology during the holidays. She was an editor and contributor for the Psychiatry section of the LSJM (the London Student Journal of Medicine).
Just before she started her third year Nicola collapsed when on holiday with her mother in South Africa and was diagnosed with an inoperable diffuse brain tumour (Astrocytoma ) She was given 3-5 years to live with treatment.
After several courses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, she was unable to return to her clinical studies and decided to start her Intercalated BSC in Psychology. Having achieved a first in all the papers she submitted unfortunately she was unable to complete the course and died, at home, on 31st July 2014, aged 26.
About the award
The Nicola Claire Hood Memorial Award has been set up in Nicola’s memory. She was extremely excited to have won 1st prize for her SSC and this, therefore, has very happy memories and associations for us.
Nicola spent some of the happiest days of her short life at Kings and we are very grateful for the support she received from Kings during her illness and that we have received now in allowing us to create this Memorial Award.
Lester & Heather Korzilius ( nee Hood )
Nicola Claire Hood Memorial Award 