2012
"I'd had enough of shuffling around senior managers’ paperwork and being a subordinate at work. I felt that enrolling on a university course was the only way for me to be heard as an employee and when I graduate, I’d like to be a manager myself one day.
“I felt I had a lot more to offer but because I lacked any higher education I was not being valued or taken seriously.
“I'd never really given much thought to the fact that I’d have to do coursework, but the course is manageable and the coursework itself helped me a lot. I haven’t yet completed my course but I already feel the benefits: I can now write a report and an essay and I have come to realise that knowledge is really what shapes a man, it is priceless.
“The environment at Southampton Solent University is very diverse and I have made many friends, especially as I live in a student residence. I love to socialise with other students from different backgrounds, genders, religions and races, I find it very enriching.
“I have discovered that I have the discipline required to achieve a good balance between study and leisure time.
“The organisation and support that the University offers students from the moment they accept a place to the day they graduate is remarkable. I love the fact that I'm counted as one of the team, and for me being valued as an individual contributor is both a big achievement and a liberating experience. I feel a better person for it.
“The help and friendliness of tutors and staff is amazing and I love their attentiveness. I remember running into financial difficulties and at one point, when I had nowhere else to turn, the Students 1st and the Student Finance teams provided me with assistance.
“Being appointed student representative has been a great experience. I also enjoyed my experience of public speaking in student seminars and in group or individual presentations.
“I hope to start my own business some day, however before I am ready to make the leap into self-employment, I would like to gain more work experience and business exposure to prepare me.
“Some may say that it's a gamble to return to full time education as a mature student, but I feel it's probably the best investment anyone can make for their future. There's a memorable quote by Benjamin Franklin painted in Solent’s lobby entrance that says: ‘if a man empties his purse into his head no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.'
“I believe that knowledge is priceless and worth every penny. I would not change these last two years for anything.”