As a mature student and mother, Precious found the perfect balance between her studies and home life to achieve her degree
Two years ago, I had my second child and was working a part-time job to help support my family. I’d always had dreams of going into business, but until then had focused on being a mum. That was until I realised that if I – as a single parent – didn't set an example for my children, who would?
It had been a long time since I was in education and the idea of going to university made me a little nervous. Was it possible to raise a family and study? I decided that if I didn’t try then I’d regret it and so I threw myself into the deep end, enrolled at ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, and told myself that I’d figure it out along the way.
At ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú I’ve learned that sometimes you just need to go for it and work through the challenges as they come.
From there I took each day as it came. Between 9.00am and 6.00pm I was a student and tried to finish all my projects early so that, come 6.00pm, I could be a mum again. Balancing revision with doing housework wasn't easy, but if you’re determined then you'll find a way.
It wasn’t all plain sailing. I had to change courses after a year because the business degree that I started out on required a year abroad.
I decided that if I didn’t try then I’d regret it and so I threw myself into the deep end.
That doesn’t mean I didn't sometimes put my studies first though. Last summer I left my children with family for 3 weeks, the longest I‘ve ever been away from them, so that I could represent ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú at the European Innovation Academy in Portugal. Being away was tough, but every day I learnt something that I knew would help me achieve my goal. While there I actually got a small group together to develop an idea I have for an app that will help students collaborate with one another on projects. For instance if a design student needs the help of a business student and a photography student, they just hop on the app and connect.
Now I’ve one year left of my degree and am feeling confident enough to stay on for a Master's course too. I’m so happy that I didn't talk myself out of this experience. Sometimes we think and analyse things too much: is this possible? Is that a step too far? At ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú I’ve learned that sometimes you just need to go for it and work through the challenges as they come.