A woman whose commitment to helping young people was recognised by the Queen has dedicated her MBE to her young charges.

Kaneez Shaid, 38, was shocked to open the letter advising her of her inclusion in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, announced on Friday.

The director of marketing at Sir George Monoux College in Chingford Road, Walthamstow, was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her services to young people and the community in east London.

Dr Shaid, who is graduating from Middlesex University  with a doctorate in Professional Studies next month, said: “I couldn’t believe it. It’s a great honour. It’s my passion to help people, I relish the chance to change other people’s lives. But for this to happen is incredible.

“I dedicate this MBE to all those who I have worked with – employers, mentors, leaders, young people – this is for you.”

The mother-of-two said she has her hands full at home looking after her children but despite that still manages to help those struggling to find work and to support themselves during education.

The Citizens UK charity trustee has confronted David Cameron over the issue of child detention, which the Coalition has now ended, and meets with big employers to encourage them to pay people the London Living Wage.

She even persuaded former Locog chief Paul Deighton to completely change the way young people were recruited for work during the Olympics.

She approached him on behalf of Citizens UK to complain of the red tape preventing young people from getting work at the Games happening on their doorstep, and helped him hold recruitment fairs at mosques and colleges across London, including George Monoux.

She said: “It felt amazing to help. It was phenomenal. I was really excited about the Games coming to London but then became quite concerned that students and young people weren’t involved.

“A lot of our students have to work, they can’t come into education without an income. It was too big a chance to miss.”

Her intervention resulted in hundreds of young people getting work through the job fairs in a variety of roles in the Games, and she has since had high-flyers from departments including the Ministry of defence come to the college and help young people with their CVs.

Dr Shaid said: “It makes an enormous difference to them, it takes them out of the classroom and into the real world. I definitely inspires them. And if I can get an MBE it shows them that they can do it too.”