I’ve always wanted to study as a postgraduate but couldn’t afford to. This is the first year of postgraduate funding so I’ve taken a loan. It’s like a dream come true – I love listening to lectures, feeling like a grownup and being intellectually stimulated again.
My first degree was in English literature and there was funding then to train as a teacher – I went on to teach English at secondary level but I didn’t love my job enough to continue. Teaching wasn’t a pleasant environment.
When I had my son, it was a chance to rethink. I study for two-and-a-half days in the week and sometimes at weekends. I spend the rest of the time with my son and doing all the washing and chores that mount up. My husband works full time but he’s incredibly supportive. I don’t have a car, so I’ve invested in a bus pass, and the grandparents help out with childcare, otherwise it would be stressful financially. You have to be careful how to spread your loan.
I’ve always been interested in the subject, and I’m planning to do something around sex education for my dissertation. On this course you can pick the subjects that interest you. It’s not been too difficult to make the transition to studying and writing essays again – in teaching I was doing this anyway. I love being in an academic setting and doing all the reading. It might be hard work getting here but the University of Essex campus is a lovely environment – it feels like a village and the view from the library is amazing.
I’m so glad I decided to be on site rather than do distance learning. Of course I could just do all this at home, but I’d never get around to it, and the joy comes from discussing everything with other students. If you’re studying theory, you really need to bounce ideas off others who will understanding of what you’re talking about. There are rooms here open all night for postgraduate study, which I’ve definitely made use of. I’m 30 and some people on the course are just out of uni; but there are others are in their 40s and 50s.
We were told at the start of the programme that if you email a tutor twice in a week and don’t hear back you should contact your head of department, but so far the academics have been brilliant – accessible and responsive.
In an ideal world, I would go on to study for a PhD, although I know funding is tight.
Interview by Helena Pozniak
