CONEL alum Mek Mehmet-Yesil studied Nursing Access to Higher Education Diploma in 2017 and is now the NHS’s representative for North London and Haringey, raising awareness of HPV and cervical cancer. Mek returned in May to talk to the current Enfield Access and Pre-Access learners about her work in this area. 

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the most frequent cancer in women with an estimated 570,000 new cases in 2018 representing 7.5% of all female cancer deaths. It is estimated that there are more than 311,000 deaths from cervical cancer every year. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract. Most sexually active women and men will be infected at some point in their lives and some may be repeatedly infected.

Working alongside Public Health England, Mek has been raising awareness for HPV and cervical cancer for four months, screening over 400 patients in this short time.

Mek said: “I’ve always wanted to be a Scientist in health, and biology and chemistry were my favourite subjects. I graduated from medical school back in 1990 but never pushed my career forward due to unforeseen circumstances. At the age of 45 I revisited my education with outstanding grades, many of which were distinctions. 

“This has been such an amazing journey after my one year Access to HE Diploma at CONEL in 2017. I set up Health Screen UK back in February 2017 as I noticed there was a need for this service, especially in the deprived non-English community. The service consists of checking bloods, for people’s cholesterol levels, body mass index and diabetes. I have done several community events this year already.

“My daughter was taken ill because of the HPV virus so I conducted some research and was taken up by Public Health England in March this year to educate and spread awareness about this preventable disease. 

“Attending CONEL gave me a new sense of life again, although most of the students were half my age it didn’t deter me. It was quite energising. It’s never too late to re-educate one’s self and there are no barriers involved. I felt complete after the course.”

The College of Haringey, Enfield & North East London’s Tottenham Centre recently hosted its annual Creative Media end of year show and awards ceremony. The event showcases and celebrates the work of the college’s creative and media students, in subjects including game design, photography, 2D and 3D design, media and music production.

The day-long event kicked off with an e-sports tournament which saw students go head-to-head playing popular games Tekken 7, FIFA 19 and Super Smash Bros. Finalist in the FIFA 19 tournament, Geobri Mayingi said: “Everyone thinks they are the best, so it’s good to finally be able to put it to the test. It’s great to be able to play against all my friends in college and have fun together.”

While the tournament was going on, there were live music performances in the sunny square from Level 2 and Level 3 music students. Level 3 students Ellis Bocking and Alfie Fraser, stage names Fraser x wys, performed one of their new tracks Lunatic Rapper. 

Students’ photography and game design work was showcased in the canteen. One of our winning students was Photography student Natasha Lynch. Working in housing and looking for some photography lessons, she’d found our photography short course on Google and started the course in February.

Natasha at the Creative Media Awards 2019
Natasha at the Creative Media Awards 2019

Natasha said: “I found it great from start to finish, the support was amazing. I grew in confidence throughout the course with help from my tutors. We were learning things like Photoshop and the fact I could learn so much in such a short space of time without feeling overwhelmed was great. We even had a day trip to the National Portrait Gallery, which helped us with our project.”

“Great teaching and great support meant we could produce great work. I think this experience has changed me.”

Natasha wants to become a teacher, so, she has signed up to a Teacher training course with CONEL starting in September.

The awards ceremony itself was held in the evening in our Microsoft suite and was hosted by CONEL students Tai-Jaun Akberali and Rachel Ngopwani.

Awards were given out to the following students: 

  • Best Live Show Director – Nicholas Jennings
  • Best Documentary – Ana Silva Gelinskas
  • Best Trailer – Abdirahman Mahamud
  • Best Concept Art – Safa Ramadan and Andrea Maly
  • Best 2D Animation – Patrycja Lukaszewska
  • Best 3D Animation – Patrycja Lukaszewska
  • Best 2D Game – Tautvydas Marcinkevicius
  • Best Interactive App – Omnya Wish
  • Best Short Film – Bozhidar Gospodinov
  • Best Film Composer – Vasili Achillea
  • Best Sound for Film – Lisa Farrell-Tonge
  • Best Producer – Ellis Bocking
  • Best Photographer – Natasha Lynch and Fatima Nasin Sikder
  • Best Ident – Nicholas Jennings
  • Best Stop Motion Animation – Omnya Wish
  • Best Music Video – Frankie Foster
  • Best Professional Engagement – Tai-Jaun Akberali
  • Best Motion Graphics – Tai-Jaun Akberali.

Media Production Level 2 student Ana Carolina Silva Gelinskas returned to the college for the awards and was rewarded by winning the Best Documentary Award. Having completed a degree in Brazil, Ana moved to England but had to work as a nanny for four years because her Brazilian degree is not recognised in the UK. Ana returned to education at CONEL in September 2018 and passed her course with us this year.

After retraining, Ana has now secured a full time job as a design assistant at the renowned Riverside Works, where she will help design high-quality awnings, blinds and curtains.

Ana said: “I think CONEL helped me with my confidence and my professional skills. They helped me know what I wanted to do.”