A mum and daughter from Wythenshawe have completed a major milestone together- they are graduating from university from the same day from the same course.
Mitchelle Bangajena, 25, a nd her mum Nyembezi Muzira, 49, have both completed Master's degrees in Adult Nursing from Keele University in Staffordshire.
Currently, Mitchelle works in the Accident & Emergency department at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, where her mum previously worked. The pair studied on the MSc course a year apart- with mum Nyembezi studying from 2018 to 2020 and daughter Mitchelle studying from 2019 to 2021.
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Both family members faced delays to their graduation ceremony due to Covid. This week is the first time that Keele University is hosting in-person graduation ceremonies since the pandemic started.
Mitchelle, who has an undergraduate degree in Criminology and Sociology, told the M.E.N.: "Towards the end of my degree, I had applied for a probation officer job and I was leaning towards a career in law. I thought to myself, is this really what I want to do?
"I had been working as a healthcare assistant for many years on the side of my degree and I wanted to do something that has purpose, that would be fulfilling. So I thought, why not do nursing?"
Nursing is what Mitchelle's mum had encouraged her daughter to pursue from the beginning, she said.
Mitchelle continued: " My mum had pushed me to do nursing for my undergraduate degree, but I wasn't interested at that point. She had done her first degree in health and social care at Manchester and she went on to do the masters in Adult Nursing at Keele University.
"So I applied to the same course as my mum and I was offered a place. I t just worked out really well. My mum gave me a rundown of what the course is about. She literally told the whole world that I would be coming to university with her!
"My mum is really friendly and everyone spoke to her, so all my course mates knew that she was my mum."
For the year they attended university together, Mitchelle and Nyembezi commuted to their classes from their Wythenshawe home.
Mitchelle continued: "Strangely enough, mum and I didn't see each other much at university. We never really spent that much time together there. W e’d travel in together and then meet up and drive back home after she finished her lectures, or after I finished mine.
"It's really exciting, to graduate with my mum and share that experience. I was originally scheduled to graduate the day after my mum, but we asked the university if we could graduate together, since we're coming from the same household."
Additionally, Mitchelle shared her favourite things about working as a nurse in the Accident & Emergency department at Stepping Hill Hospital.
She added: "M y mum worked in A&E in Stockport for a year and I also went there, which is where I still am now. I just fell in love and I don’t see myself working anywhere else. No day is the same. We g et all types of patients.
"You get to learn a lot and improve your skills. I t’s a lot of training, so you get equipped for anything that could come through the door.
"You've got to be vigilant and work together and be comfortable with delegation. I think everyone takes a lot more precaution now with infection prevention control, because of Covid.
"I feel like patients are a lot more grateful for what the NHS does now, because they understand the hard work that key workers have been putting in throughout the pandemic."
Mitchelle's mum, Nyembezi, who works in private care, described her excitement about sharing her special day with her daughter.
She said: "I have really been looking forward to graduation. We've waited a long time, because it was delayed. I enjoyed everything about the course, especially the practical side. My colleagues and mentors were so supportive, t hey were very positive throughout.
"When Mitchelle and I tell people that we are graduating on the same day, some people are shocked and they say, ' there is a 25-year age gap between you and Mitchelle, how did you do it?'
"But they're very happy for us. It's really nice that Mitchelle and I both work in nursing, because we come home and we talk about it.
"W e’re both glad to have someone to discuss it with and we can help each other out, but we also know when to draw the line with talking about work."
Nursing is a career that felt like a natural fit for Nyembezi, who has worked in numerous care settings after arriving to the UK from Zimbabwe in 2002.
She added: "I have previously worked with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties and I have worked at care homes, where I have been a team leader.
"I have been in different jobs, so I have experienced different things. I have a real passion for this profession and whatever I do, I put my all in."
This week, Keele University is hosting its biggest-ever graduation week in its 73-year history, with 15 ceremonies taking place across five days.
In a statement posted to the university website, Keele University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Trevor McMillan, said: "Graduation is the highlight of the academic year, and after a gap of two years we are excited to finally have the opportunity to celebrate the fantastic achievements of our students. Their success is the result of hard work, commitment and dedication, with the pandemic having required levels of resilience and adaptability that is a credit to them all.
"Keele is a special place in which to study, and all members of the university are very proud of what our students achieve, both when they are at the university and when they leave. I look forward to welcoming our students back to campus and joining them for these long-anticipated celebrations."
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