Maureen Lowndes – Sociology and Social Policy Graduate 2007
Education is a necessity for life, just like food, water and shelter. It often happens that when one becomes a mature student ones confidence is very low, especially if the student came from a disadvantaged background. The access programmes do marvellous work by bringing the disadvantages into education. I was a TAP student and from TAP I went on to study sociology and social policy and I now have my degree.
When one becomes a mature student it is a huge life change. It also means spending a large chunk of ones time with young students. I got on very well with the young students and some of them are now good friends. It is important to be young at heart. Many older people condemn the youth but well educated young people are wonderful. Becoming a mature student in a large Institution like Trinity gives one a great opportunity to make friends young and older. It also gives one the opportunity to mix with people from other cultures thus broadening ones horizons. Many guest speakers come to Trinity; I enjoyed Bob Geldof and Cynthia Enloe Professor from Clark University amongst others.
It is important to travel and sometimes the mature student’s society holds tours. I went to Prague with them once and I managed to travel a few other places as well. A psychologist told me once that when people miss out on their youth and have missed out on all the things do like becoming educated and travelling there comes a time when they need to catch up and it is important to do so. Otherwise one can become bitter and angry in old age.
From the beginning it is important to attend all classes and stick to deadlines with essays. I never asked for an extension on an essay as if you fall behind once you will fall behind again and again. When examination time comes you need to keep focused and not bother with a social life and it is worth the sacrifice when the results come out. It is important to avoid having to take supplemental examinations. Passing everything first time is a great boost to confidence and means one can enjoy summer instead of slogging at the books.
The day you find out that you have your degree is a great day. It means you have achieved what you set out to achieve. It means you now have the knowledge and can be open minded and see the big picture. It means you will have confidence. You will have learned great life skills in decision making and problem solving. So my advice is keep going be determined to pass all your exams and graduate. Four years may seem like a long time but it is not. The terms go so fast that from year to year the exams come up before you know it. Keep going, never give up, follow your dream and you will never regret it. I am so thankful to Trinity for giving me a great education and great skills.