“My dream has changed while I’ve been here”

Nina came to the College expecting that she would study and then follow a career in business. The experience of learning has led her to want to emulate her teachers and qualify to teach in primary schools. Because of the support she received for childcare, Nina is now ready to go to university next year.

“What attracted me to the College was the help with most of the childcare costs at my son’s private nursery – my daughter is six and my son is four. I had applied to another college but they couldn’t pay me enough to cover the costs. My son was then only two, so without this support I would have had to wait another three years until he started school. Because I came to CONEL, I’m able to start my degree next year.

I now want to be a primary school teacher. I found an interest through studying here, especially watching presentations. I like the teaching style and I really look up to my teachers. I would like to be able to teach people the way they do and I feel that I will find greater fulfilment from a career in teaching. Because of my two young children, I feel more connected to that age group – they express their emotions openly.

I mentor here at the College and it helps with my confidence in my own work. I like to think that I can help someone to learn something that they didn’t know before. I’ve been mentored and I know that it can take a while to grasp things. They provide training for the mentors, so that we know how to approach it and it also gives us knowledge of how to deal with people who have dyslexia. I prefer to start doing this now as it means that I will start at university with a little experience, as dyslexia will be part of the course and of my future work with children.

I find college life exciting. Because of the ‘old’ reputation that the College had, it was great to find that it was very different and harmonious; it has been a pleasant surprise for me. I’ve made lots of friends. The majority of people are younger but it’s open to any age and I’ve also made friends with people who are older than me.

I started at the College thinking that I’d love to work in business in a big office but my dream has changed while I’ve been here.”