Michelle Adamson
I remember Primary School in Glenrothes as an enjoyable experience. My Secondary School was Glenrothes High School and I left at 17 with seven Standard Grades and two Highers and instead of 6th year at school enrolled at Fife College to study for an HND in Human Resources.
The Human Resources course was the wrong choice for me and I ended up leaving with an unfinished HNC (by 1 module) and a half-finished HND. I then went to Majorca to work as a holiday rep for the next year and when I returned to Scotland got various administration jobs, which I liked, but these positions didn’t really challenge me and I started to think about going back to education.
I thought about it for about a year researching all my options and the cost implications.
Take your time and choose a course that’s right for you. There is nothing wrong with getting some life experience first then returning to studying. If anything it will make you realise what you want to do.
It had taken me a while and a bit of life experience to realise what I wanted to do, but in 2004 I enrolled on a full-time self-study Childhood and Youth Studies degree with the Open University. I now work full-time as a Support Officer for the Fife & Tayside Wider Access Forum and am halfway through my degree.
The job I’m in is giving me practical experience of working with young people and I’m enjoying the fact that I know I have new opportunities to look forward to and will achieve even more in the future. My ambition is to be a primary school teacher and although it’s not easy studying and working at the same time, I know it will be worth it.