A graduate has received national recognition for her work with one of the region's leading companies.

Karen Wilson has been highly commended in the Graduate Employability Awards for her work with Sunderland's Leighton Group.

Ms Wilson, who was president of the students' union at the University of Sunderland, "made a powerful impression on the judges in what was a very strong field".

The 27-year-old has an accounting and economics degree and a masters degree in computer-based information systems.

She impressed Leighton so much she was put in charge of one of the comp-any's British Airways account within months of joining.

Ms Wilson's name was put forward by Leighton chairman Paul Callaghan.

He said: "Karen has demonstrated a level of maturity and ability that you would not expect from a new graduate.

"She immediately impressed us and we decided to give her the role of number two in the account management team for British Airways, one of our most important and demanding clients

"Within three months, it was obvious that Karen should lead the team."

"Over the past 12 months, she has developed our relationship with British Airways to such an extent that they have substantially increased both the volume and the quality of work that they give us."

The awards, which celebrate the high standards of employability of the UK's graduates, was supported by The Independent newspaper.