My journey as a mature student

From around the age of seven, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the architectural field, but by 17 I had had enough of school and decided to take a break for a while. However, that little while turned into years, and before I knew it I was just about to turn 25 with a young child, working in the health care industry. Not what I had aspired to do. After years of self-deliberation, it was time to make a change. I decided to bite the bullet and booked an appointment with a careers officer at my local college. By the end of the appointment, I had signed up to an access course due to start within weeks. My son attended school whilst I worked, and with the support from family, I would attend college at night. Fast forward 2 years later, I received my options for university – both of which were full time courses in England. It was a scary thought.  I grew up just outside of Belfast, my family were a 10-20 minute drive away, and I knew where everything was. England was alien to me.

It was a few days before my bachelors degree was due to begin at the University of Derby, I packed up my life into a van and headed to England. Within days I had signed for a house, signed my son up for a new school and I was ready to begin my new life – I was basically on my own, in totally different surroundings, with somewhat different rules. There was no option but to adjust to my new situation, although, It wasn’t as difficult as initially anticipated. I found a new job within weeks, fell into routine quite quickly, and my son seemed to settle well into his new school. I attended lectures during the day whilst my son was at school, and whilst he slept at night I would study. School holidays usually fell hand in hand with university holidays, so that was never much of a concern, during which times we took time away. To look at courses Derby have to offer, follow this link  https://www.derby.ac.uk/.

A few years later I graduated, and again I had to adjust to a new way of life. I had found a job quite quickly, but before long it all came to an end as the pandemic hit the UK. I was furloughed, sitting at home for months on end, considering my return back to Belfast. The world had come to a standstill and England was forced into a lockdown. The only communication I had to the outside world was my daily call from my best friend Nilani, who was an employee at IMA Architects. On this one occasion however, she was phoning me to ask whether I would be interested in working at IMA, and here I am 2 years on.

I began IMA during a time when no one knew what the world was coming to. Within three weeks of starting my new position, we were in another lockdown. I barely had the time to meet the team before being asked to come and collect my computer to work from home. I didn’t know how they worked or how they filed things, but everyone seemed very understanding and supportive. This was when I would be introduced to my first RDC, clouding my brain full of information that meant nothing to me. 2 years on, I have taken 2 full RDC;s through planning by myself (with the help of Anthony of course, Director of the business), I am working on a number of small projects by myself, and a couple of large site developments with Nilani.

When I first started IMA, I had also been accepted to return to university to complete a masters degree. With full time work, and a teenager now on my hands, it has proven a lot more difficult to find the time, but IMA has supported me in more ways than I could have expected – allowing me study days outside of annual leave, allowing me to book off at the last minute to prepare for upcoming assignments and offering professional guidance and advice.

IMA has been a huge support in my continued development, both as an individual and as a professional. Although my job is highly demanding, I love what I do, I wake up every day with a smile on my face. IMA are often hosting staff days and social events which I have found to be great for my personal development and getting to know my team even better. I often look back and think, if I didn’t force myself out of my comfort zone, I would still be in Belfast working as a care-worker.