Profile 44
I am a 26 year old student from Merseyside in my final year of a Veterinary degree at the University of Liverpool. I went to University later in life to pursue my dream career as a veterinary surgeon following a short career in the hospitality industry. I feel extremely lucky to be studying at the University of Liverpool, especially as I come from a family without a previous tradition of Higher Education.
Whilst at University I have been heavily involved with one of the University Service Units which has allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills and employability, as well as enabling me to take part in an astonishing range of sports and activities, particularly extreme sports. I have met some very interesting people and worked with inspiring colleagues.
University comes with its own challenges, not least of those the financial strain that studying full-time places on students. Frequent administrative errors by Student Finance England, the company that provides loans for students, has periodically left me under severe financial pressure, despite the three part-time jobs I have held throughout my pre-clinical studies. I have sometimes had to face a choice between travelling to University classes or eating on any given day.
Veterinary Medicine requires significant financial outlay above that of other courses; based outside of Liverpool in a semi-rural area with frequent night and on-call duties we are required to run a vehicle with all its attendant costs, as well as furnishing ourselves with a long list of essential and expensive equipment. As the financial demands increase with our clinical years, so too do the time demands, leaving us with a significantly reduced earning potential. I was facing my final year of studies with the rather bleak impression that no matter what I did, I would never earn enough to complete the year.
The John Moran Educational Trust has changed that. With their support, I now feel that i will be able to complete my final year, and make myself and my family proud of what students from Merseyside can achieve. It is very hard to explain just how much it means, not just the financial aid, but the knowledge that someone believes you are worth investing in. I sincerely hope that in my later life I will be in a position to aid local students with their studies, because I will never forget what I owe to the John Moran Trust.
My entire life I have wanted to be a Veterinary Surgeon. Although I came from a less affluent Merseyside background, I had initially never seen this as a barrier to my education. Unfortunately, I discovered that sometimes the real world does get in the way. When my student finance was delayed due to clerical errors I found myself working three jobs and fighting exhaustion to stay awake during teaching. When it was delayed for the second year running, I found myself with just enough to afford to eat once per day, and faced with choosing which modules were most important as I could not afford the bus fare every day. I carried on because this degree was all I have ever wanted to do, but as the subject matter got harder and the hours longer it became increasingly difficult to continue working outside of university and I really began to panic that I would not be able to return to university for my final year.
Into the breach stepped the JMET. With their support, the anxiety related to affording the basic necessities of living was removed and I could fully concentrate on achieving my degree. More than that, the knowledge that somebody believed in me and was willing to invest in me gave me the confidence to continue during a very difficult period of my life.
Now a qualified vet and hoping to become a mentor for young women and girls from Merseyside looking to work in the sciences, I am incredibly grateful to the JMET for giving me the ability to complete my final year of study. Thank you for your support. You will never know what it meant.
