A former homeless cancer survivor from Ruislip has been nominated for a prestigious national award.

Nicola Staff, 26, from Ruislip in Middlesex, has been nominated for the TK Maxx and HomeSense Young Achiever of the Year Award at The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx & HomeSense Celebrate Success Awards.

A ceremony will be held on November 17 at Milton Court, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, in London.

The Awards recognise the achievements of disadvantaged young people across London and the South East who have succeeded against the odds, improved their chances in life and had a positive impact on their local community.

Nicola was bullied at school. Without people recognizing it she was suffering a breakdown, and because she was so unhappy she quit her Hospitality Management course, left home and ended up living in a tent for three months.

‎Three years later, at the age of 21, Nicola was diagnosed with lymphoma. She recovered, but suffered another breakdown.

"That’s when I was diagnosed with OCD, social phobia, low self-esteem and confidence issues. I needed medication and psychotherapy," she said.

Her father didn’t know where to turn for help. He tried to engage her with different organisations that could help, but nothing worked.

Then he came across Fairbridge, a Prince's Trust programme that builds the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people.

Taking part in everything from BMX-biking to canoeing, Nicola's confidence flourished during Fairbridge and led her to join Get into Hospitality, a Prince's Trust programme that is delivered in partnership with Marriott Hotels, and gives unemployed young people the skills they need to gain work in the industry.

Nicola gave the programme her best shot and, despite initial nerves, began her first day at the five-star Grosvenor House JW Marriott Hotel in Mayfair, London.

"That day completely changed my life," she added.

She gained experience in a number of different departments and asked to extend her placement when the programme ended.

Nicola now works full-time in the Pastry Kitchen at Grosvenor House and meets regularly with her Prince's Trust ‎Progression Mentor to continue to build her resilience. She has been featured in Mr Marriott's Blog.

Positive, stable and with a great support network around her, Nicola finally feels in control of her life.

She has ambitions of travelling to France to train as a pastry chef and plans to continue her career in the hospitality sector.

"Before The Prince's Trust, I couldn't think about the next day, but everyone at The Trust and Marriott Hotels were so supportive, and now I am planning my future," she said.

The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx & HomeSense Celebrate Success Awards will be touring the country in November with celebratory ceremonies taking place in each region.

The event in London will take place on November 17, at 3pm, will be hosted by KISS FM UK DJs and Prince’s Trust Ambassadors AJ King and Neev Spencer.

TK Maxx has been a partner of The Prince’s Trust since 2013 and has become one of the Trust’s largest delivery partners of the Get into Retail programme.

This two to six week course develops young people’s skills in the retail sector and supports them into positive outcomes in retail.

Since the partnership began 67% of young people who have taken the course went on to full time employment.

In 2016 HomeSense, the sister company of TK Maxx, appointed The Prince’s Trust as its national charity partner.

HomeSense is supporting The Prince’s Trust Achieve programme which helps vulnerable young people achieve in their local communities.

Store associates and customers from across HomeSense’s 44 UK stores are raising funds for The Trust through a number of in-store campaigns.

Earlier this year, HomeSense launched the partnership by supporting the #partofPT campaign which saw The Trust touring the UK to celebrate its 40th anniversary with some of the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been touched by its work.

TK Maxx and HomeSense are proud to have supported 650 young people through the Get into Retail programme.

Youth charity The Prince's Trust gives disadvantaged young people the skills and confidence to find a job. Three in four young people helped by The Prince’s Trust move into work, training or education.