A Mentrau Iaith Officer has reached the final of the Welsh Learner of the Year Award 2016.

Hannah Roberts works for Menter Iaith Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen a Mynwy as a Development officer in Blaenau Gwent and Northern Monmouthshire.

She started learning Welsh ‘by accident’ when home from university one summer, and looking for something to do.  She attended a taster course and loved it.  She returned to Aberystwyth University and decided to change her course from Geography to a Welsh for beginners course in the Welsh Department.

Hannah, in reflecting on her experiences said:

“From that point onwards, being a Student at Aberystwyth University, I’ve taken full advantage of the vast array of opportunities that exist for me to improve my Welsh. In addition to my lessons at the University, I would attend Welsh for Adults classes in Ceredigion and in Gwent during the summer holidays.

“I had an opportunity to meet people who are leaning Welsh from all over the world – this only exemplifies that the Welsh language is a language accessible to all and not just those of us in Wales, everyone has the right and opportunity to learn and live through the medium of Welsh. I’ve made so many close friends as a result of learning Welsh.”

Hannah adds:

“By learning Welsh, doors have opened. Language and Culture are interdependent. From learning Welsh you’ve the key to a rich culture, and I’ve barely scratched the surface thus far. I very much look forward to digging deeper into the history and culture of my home-town in the years to come, and am also very hopeful for the future of the language in Blaenau Gwent.”

We would like to wish Hannah every success in the Final Round. Pob lwc i ti!