I’ve done a lot of courses over the years but it has all led to this. I was a parent at the really young age of 16. I did my Leaving Cert and I started college to do Industrial Design but I didn’t finish my second year and dropped out. With the costs of transport and having to pay a babysitter, it wasn’t possible to keep going. There weren’t as many resources to help single parents back then and I lost heart for a while. You can’t be expected to do all of that if you don’t have the resources there to support you. I’ve had lots of attempts at college but there were many barriers. Another time was in Galway studying English literature and Philosophy in 2012 but at the time there was a housing crisis and it became impossible to live there.
Encouragement from Tutors:
All of my tutors so far have been great and I feel really lucky. I struggled a lot with self-confidence and self-belief, feeling I wasn’t good enough to do things. Particularly my most recent art teacher Marie, she’s made me feel like I can do things, and that I have the skills. Otherwise I wouldn’t have applied.
One of my other tutors Cormac encouraged me to apply to be a tutor for a company called Createschool.ie. At the time I was getting disheartened, and felt there was no point as I wouldn’t be able to work full-time because of my health. My tutor could see that maybe freelance work might suit me better and they were able to help me out with that. He could see that I had those skills from helping other people in the class. It can be very easy to give up and to get overwhelmed by doubt.
Sometimes I think I’m going to be stuck where I am doing the same thing so sometimes we just need a bit of a nudge. It’s nice now that I’ll be in a position to do the same for the kids I’ll be working with, and to be the one to give them a nudge. A couple of words can sometimes change the whole direction for people.
My experiences in my recent courses have been really positive. I’m glad you can keep doing different courses. Some I didn’t finish and others were more suitable for me. It’s strange when you look back and you can see how it is all connected.
A Passion for Learning:
The Training and Development course I’m doing is really broad, and right now, I’m being trained up to design and deliver courses related to my skill set. I chose to design an “Introduction to Photoshop” course for my final project. We learned about different adult learning theories and this helps you choose what materials to include in your course. The course runs for 15 weeks so I’m almost finished.
I was just in a school in Sligo doing work shadowing with Createschool.ie. They run the Rubbish Film Festival, which encourages creativity and environmental awareness among Transition Year students. In early January, I will do another work shadow with them and then I should be ready to facilitate workshops here in Donegal. I will be delivering general film making workshops.
The course will be delivered in a hybrid way, with Createschool coming online in the morning via Zoom and I will then complete the activities with TY students. It’s a great way to gain experience. The sessions take place over two days: the first day is when participants research, learn about the techniques and plan out their idea and on the second day they make a one minute film. It is a similar process to animation so the skills I have learned are transferable.
For the job with the Rubbish Film Festival, I didn’t need a qualification but, for me, I wanted to know how to design a course, and how to manage situations if things went wrong in the class.
Being passionate about it and having people skills are more important.
It takes a certain kind of person to work with groups of teenagers, and there are certain life skills you get from being a parent.
I’ve studied health care, and that has helped me out with relationships in general. I got interested in reading up on psychology which helps me to understand people better. And meeting so many people on the courses opens up your world a bit. If you’re home, you can be stuck in your own circle.
My next course was Art and Design at Errigal College, an ETB course Level 5. This was just before the COVID-19 pandemic and was an in-person course. My tutor encouraged me to apply for college. I had given up on the idea – I was just going to do Arts and Crafts as a hobby as I felt I couldn’t try college again. I applied and I decided to give it a year to see how I’d get on. I loved animation straight away and got really into it. There are so many different things you can do with it in the entertainment industry, in advertising or in a purely artistic way.
Personally, I would struggle to work full-time because of health limitations. Sitting at a desk all day would be difficult for me because of injuries. Doing workshops will be more suitable for me as I can move around. Ideally, I will work part-time hours, or perhaps more at times when I am able.
What I would say to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation is to keep doing the courses, keep sociable, and keep yourself updated on what’s going on with new technologies and changes. When I started my animation course, the technology was not familiar to me and it took me a long time to master it.
But I always believe that you can learn at any age, even technology, you just have to keep trying.
Changes I’d like to see to the education system:
It was a step in the right direction to see fees reduced by half. This is very beneficial for anyone who may not have gotten their degree the first time and want to try again. Many people realise they have chosen the wrong course when it’s too late to change. In my case, I was entitled to a second chance with Susi but because of my living circumstances they classed adults as dependent on their parents. In a housing crisis, many people have no choice but to live with their parents. But it is ridiculous that parents’ income should be taken into account for a student who is in their 30s.
I’d also like to see more hybrid online options for those who may find getting accommodation near a college or long travel distances an issue.
Childcare support is also an ongoing issue and was definitely a huge barrier for me in the past. Particularly when I did not have my own transport.
Future plans and Advice:
I hope to keep doing the workshops. I’d like to do a variety of workshops with different types of groups, both young and older. I also want to set up an animation company that makes animated explainer videos. Ideally I’d hire animators to work with me on that. I will look to Enterprise Ireland for funding and guidance. If you take your business idea to New Frontiers in Enterprise Ireland, they can guide you to the next stage, mentor you and sometimes help you to access a stipend.
As a personal project, I’m working on a children’s book with illustrations for 3 to 5 year olds. It’s going to be called Little Helper and is about helping children and parents to set boundaries.
If I had any advice for anyone thinking about going back to education, I would say go for it. Anyone I’ve talked to who has taken the step has not regretted it.
If you’re going back as a mature student, you have lots of life-experience and maturity on your side. I’d also say, don’t focus on the end goal but take things as they come. Your plans may change but it will definitely spark different ideas for you.
Keep reminding yourself – things always change. You are not stuck in your situation – there are options. There are probably things you’ve always wanted to do. You should always try.
My son is now in first year in college, studying film and media production, doing editing and post-production. I think maybe my experience encouraged him to go back as he did drop out of secondary school and attended the “Youthreach” programme for school leavers. Over the years, he has seen a huge change in me – I was really down but now I’m having a complete ball with life. Life has changed so much for me, regardless of the limitations.
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For more information contact Karyn at kfarrell@aontas.com
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