It’s Never Too late to Change
I’m Kelly, I’m a 35 year old psychology student. I have two children and I work part time as a cancer support worker. I run on coffee and cake.
Kelly Brown
I’ve been working in the NHS for 16 years in a variety of administration roles when the opportunity came up to support people through their cancer diagnosis. Having worked in oncology for 10 years, I knew how important that support was. I love my job, but often became frustrated at the lack of psychological support available due to huge waiting lists.
I have always believed that you should be the change you want to see in the world, so I applied to the University of East London, which offered a BPS approved course through distance learning. Being 35 and having two children, unfortunately physically going to university was not an option. I was a little worried about my UCAS points, but UEL was fantastic and encourage people from all backgrounds and ages to apply.
My studying experience is probably a little different from those at university. I am able to study when I choose, but I tend to watch my lectures on the days they are recorded. Sometimes my eldest son will watch them with me! It takes a lot of discipline to make sure you complete assignments as you aren’t in the classroom, so I tend to read journals during the week and write essays over the weekends. My work have been really supportive and have given me study days when I have assignments due in, so I can double-check my work without distractions.
I think the biggest myth to bust is that psychology isn’t a science. Even having studied it at A Level, I hadn’t realised how scientific it was. Luckily, I have really enjoyed it. I found that the module I was most worried about (Mental Wealth) was the most important and interesting of all my modules so far. It teaches you critical thinking skills, which are invaluable not only for my degree but in everyday life. I also worried massively that I wouldn’t be clever enough, or that everyone around me would be so much smarter and I’d be stuck and feel stupid. However, it has been fine (so far) and all the lecturers are great at being a point of contact if anything doesn’t make sense.
During lockdown I have been working from home, supporting patients over the phone. It has been an intense time for them, lots of fear and uncertainty. It has also been hard on staff, we have had to completely change the way we work but I think it has made us stronger as a team. When I started to struggle with working from home, I researched why this may be the case, and put plans in place to help myself. I probably wouldn’t have thought of looking into this without the degree, as I wouldn’t know where to start.
If I were to give any advice to new students, it would be to reference as you go when writing essays - trying to reference at the end is a nightmare and takes longer than you think!
Good luck! I hope this helps any older students wondering if you can do it - you really can and it will change your life and outlook in a highly positive way.
