Feature: “Doing the degree built my confidence and my social network”

by Lisa Matera

Back in 2014, Yvonne Aird, who is from Kirkstall, had been out of work and education for some time and had been busy raising a family of four children.

As her children hit their teenage years, her life took a new direction.

 “At the time my mental health was shocking and I’d not been out of the house for a couple of years. I had an amazing family support worker and she built my confidence. She asked me if I’d be interested in going to an open day at the Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC) at the University of Leeds and she told me about a free taster course for adults that they run called JumpStart. JumpStart is eight weeks long and runs one evening a week.

“I did the course and I got the feeling that university isn’t just for people that have got money and that this was an option for me too. My motivation for doing it basically was because I wanted to change the pattern. I wanted my children and my grandchildren to know that, even though you might not think about education at this moment in time, it’s there. It’s a possibility. I wanted them to know it doesn’t matter how old you are.” 

Following JumpStart, Yvonne accessed the free and impartial advice and guidance service for adults offered by the LLC.

The service is for adults who haven’t studied at university level before. After her advice and guidance appointment, Yvonne decided to apply for Preparation for Higher Education (PHE) – a one-year, part-time foundation course that helps adults get the skills they need for university study.

“The course encouraged us to question. It’s not like it was back at school; the course taught you there are different ways to learn and different types of learning. The teachers were really human and approachable.

“The cohort of people on the course were really down to earth. I made good friends and we were part of a community. There was a feeling that we were all in this together and we were really supportive of each other.”

On completion of the PHE course and having been awarded a scholarship by the University of Leeds, Yvonne progressed to the Professional Studies degree programme at the LLC.

Professional Studies is designed with mature students in mind and is particularly relevant if students can bring prior work and life experience to their studies. The course explores contemporary issues from a range of academic perspectives and students get the opportunity to personalise their studies. 

“What I liked about Professional Studies is that it gives you so many options; you’ve got your core subjects, but you get to pick from across the wider University as well. I picked modules from law, social policy and child and family studies too. There’s something there that would interest anyone.”

The modules that Yvonne chose aligned with her interests and career goal of working in family support after graduation. 

During her time on the programme Yvonne was really helped by support from the LLC and the wider University.

“The support was amazing. It wasn’t just the tutors but the other support too like the Student Union who can advise on things like debt, or the support for people with dyslexia.” Yvonne used the support available from the LLC around student finance and careers advice throughout her degree.

“The LLC is a safe space for mature students at the University of Leeds. It’s fantastic.”

Yvonne graduated in 2018 and now works as an Outreach Coordinator for West Leeds-based Forward Leeds, an organisation that provides support for adults, young people and families needing help with their alcohol and drug use.

“My role is building recovery in the community, and I’m an outreach worker supporting people to sustain their abstinence. I go out into the community which could mean going into people’s homes but also other places such as hospitals or prisons.

“I’ve been here two and half years and I love it. The learning from Professional Studies definitely helped me get to where I am now. To have the degree on my CV, especially at my age, it’s like, wow, you got a degree at 50!”

What would Yvonne say to somebody who was thinking about maybe returning to study as an adult? “Go to the LLC and make an advice and guidance appointment – get the correct information and don’t just accept the myths about university. Speak to some of the mature students down there because it’s not all a bed of roses – it’s hard work. Go speak to people who will tell you the real side of it.”

Yvonne reflects on the changes that have resulted from her hard work and return to education. “From somebody that didn’t go out the house and couldn’t use buses or go to crowded places, now I spend my days on the bus because I’m an outreach worker and I don’t drive.

“Doing the degree built my confidence and my social network. It gave me the confidence to question things. I’ve lived in Leeds all my life and gone past the University and thought it’s a different world, but it’s not. It’s so welcoming and it’s got such a diverse culture.”

Yvonne did the degree for herself, but she was thinking about her family too. “I wanted to be a role model for my children and grandchildren. I think they’re still shocked I’ve done it. They were really encouraging and now they tell me how proud they are of me.”

If you’re interested in finding more about university study as an adult and would like to explore your options the LLC offers lots of free opportunities to do just that.

In-person and online events for prospective mature students run throughout the year to help adults find out more about accessible routes into university as well the more practical side of studying, such as student finance and the application process. There are taster events for the two courses that Yvonne studied (PHE and Professional Studies) coming up on Thursday 13^th and Tuesday 18^th March.

The impartial advice and guidance service that Yvonne accessed is available all year round to any adult who hasn’t studied at university level before.

Appointments can be arranged in-person at the University, online or over the phone, including on weekday evenings (online and telephone only).

JumpStart, the short taster course for adults that Yvonne took before applying to PHE, runs every October and February. You can find out more and apply for the next course here. You can also call the LLC on 0113 343 3212 or email them at lifelonglearning@leeds.ac.uk.

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