Kelly Birkin
Kelly Birkin
Age: 40
Course: BA Hons in Theatrical Hair
In 2019, aged 36 I went back to education because my children had grown up and my son had started at university, I felt it was my time to work on myself.
I had left school age 16 with good GCSE results and had gone on to do an apprenticeship in office administration as I thought that’s what I wanted to do at that age. I then became pregnant with my son and life changed completely for me.
As my son was growing up, I trained in beauty therapy and became a self-employed beautician so that I could work around him. I followed this by doing jobs within different areas: childcare, hospitality and caring for the elderly.
I had never really known what it was that I wanted to do when I was younger, but as I got older I had more time and experience to be able to seriously think about what I wanted in life.
I therefore decided to go back to my beauty roots and become a make up artist and enrol on to a degree.
Kelly Birkin“I had never really known what it was that I wanted to do when I was younger, but as I got older I had more time and experience to be able to seriously think about what I wanted in life.”
My course helped me to develop my social skills, academic thinking, writing skills and practical skills, and I made lifelong friends along the way.
My time at University Centre Rotherham cemented what I wanted to do and helped me understand what steps I needed to take to get there. I loved my time at UCR.
Now I am working for the RNN Group doing the job that I dreamed of when I first started my university journey, and I’m working with the same amazing team that supported me through my degree.
I am so glad I used my time to go back to completing my education and do a degree. I could not happier.
