A KNIFE crime victim will join some of the world’s elite students on a trip of a life time in memory of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Callum Gilbert, 21, of Hillside Road, Mossley Hill, was stabbed four times in a random attack in 2006.

But he overcame a tough interview by an illustrious judging panel to gain the six- week architecture scholarship at Harvard University.

The scheme, Architecture For Everyone, was set up by architecture firm RMJM and Doreen Lawrence OBE in memory of her son, Stephen, who was murdered in a racially-motivated attack 16 years ago.

Callum, who beat 200 other candidates, said: “The interview was very intense but I managed to use ideas about spatial awareness and what I had learned at college to pull it off. Having been a victim of knife crime like Stephen Lawrence, who also wanted to be an architect, I feel very privileged to be given the opportunity to study at Harvard.”

Callum will join five others who also received the scholarship on flights and accommodation paid for by RMJM when they travel to the USA this month.

Callum left school at the age of 16 with no qualifications and found it hard to get into work.

He said: “Being a victim of knife crime and not being able to secure an apprenticeship led me to have low self-confidence, but one day I decided to turn things around.”

His determination to succeed led him to attend an Architecture For Everyone workshop, where he shared ideas for a community park in Toxteth to promote unity between residents from different backgrounds.

Congratulating the winners, Mrs Lawrence said: “I am so thrilled Stephen’s name has been able to inspire other young people to fulfil their dreams.”

Callum is currently studying 3-D design at Liverpool Community College and hopes to achieve sufficient qualifications to secure a place at university.