I won the "Inspiration" Award by Centre of Excellence in the end of 2025!

I haven’t shared it here yet, but I actually won the Inspiration 2025 Award by Centre of Excellence!

My experience with Centre of Excellence

I have been learning with Centre of Excellence for several years now. I’ve always been satisfied with the courses and I like that you can buy printed or downloadable copies of the textbooks and such. I’ve taken everything from languages courses, botany, history and philosophy to psychology, herbalism and spiritual courses.

I feel they are good for people who need more time and has plenty of interests. They also frequently have discounts so it’s affordable as well! The courses are self-paced so it’s great for people with ADHD and other disabilities who thrives better when they can build their own learning schedule.

I also love that they have such variety in the course library. I was very pleased to see that metaphysical and spiritual courses were taken seriously and so were the science courses!

Why I decided to apply for the “Inspiration 2025” award

I decided to apply for the “Inspiration” category because I no longer want to minimize for myself or others how much effort I’ve put into the person I am today. I also aim to inspire, thus that category I chose, because I have disabilities, trauma and a lot of obstacles in the way of learning. So I shared how distance learning in a self-paced space have benefitted me, because others might not know that option is available to them.

So I sat down, very nervous, and recorded a quite long video telling my story. A few months later I received an email telling me that I was the winner of the category of “Inspiration” and that I, in fact, won the award!

You can watch the full, uncut application video on my website here: https://trixjoyce.com/supporters/video_embeds/199728

(it’s free, but you need to sign up for a free membership to see it since I don’t want it public online!)

Words I shared on social media after I won the award

Still can't believe I won this award by @centre_of_excellence called the "Inspiration Award"! I didn't think my story was that interesting... But then I realized that it is actually VERY inspiring to go from a survivor of abuse/trauma AND educational neglect - because of the lack of disability support - to an independent distance learner who THRIVES in their field(s)! In my case, it's philosophy, religious studies, and psychology-related topics.

I have survived a lot that life has thrown at me. From childhood trauma and every kind of abuse imaginable to ableism because of my disabilities, and adulthood misfortunes like getting RA (rheumatoid arthritis) at only 27 years old... And therefore becoming even more disabled! But nonetheless, I’m a lifelong learner, and I will always study and research and write original philosophy! Thank you SO MUCH again, @centre_of_excellence for awarding me this beautiful trophy and certificate! Yay me! 🏆💖

For those who wondering, CoE awards students on their course platform (perhaps combined with their university studies, like me!) who deserves this recognition every year… This year, I was chosen and I still cannot believe it!

6 months later - how do I feel now?

In march it was 6 months ago since I received the trophy. I have been so thankful for this and felt a boost in my self-esteem and studies since receiving it! I feel like I finally was rewarded something for my story and that I was recognized for real.

It’s a big deal when you decide to share about surviving domestic violence, childhood abuse, rape, hospitalization and all of that, and it feels so good it was taken seriously and even considered inspirational to survive all of that and now thriving in an academic environment, even if it’s primarily online.

I plan to always learn something new (yes until I got old! I love academia!) and continue study and as long as Centre for Excellence is here, I will take courses to support my formal education via their platform!

xx

Trix.