Whether giving out Covid vaccines at the height of the pandemic or returning to the classroom, there hasn’t been much time for relaxation since retirement for Debbie.
Stepping back from a 22-year career in the NHS, the 56-year-old said the hard-earned break gave her the impetus to do something for herself.
Surprisingly, given the fact she has spent her career working as a ward clerk in the health service, for the mum-of-three that meant choosing to study an Access to Higher Education in Health course.
“I have loved every minute,” said Debbie, who completed her course in style, named Access to Higher Education Student of the Year at the college’s Celebration of Achievement Awards.
For her, the course was a chance to learn after decades out of the classroom.
“It was something that I had always wanted to do, but with responsibilities and family the time was never right,” she said.
“After doing the same job for so long it was the learning aspect that I was interested in.”
Retirement offered the perfect opportunity to do something for herself.
“The more I got into it, the more I wanted to do,” she said. “It has given me a new lease of life.”
Now with an offer to study diagnostic radiotherapy and occupational therapy at Teesside University, Debbie said: “It has made me feel like I am not too old and that I can still give something back doing something else.”
Alongside her course, she also brushed up on her maths and English at the college and studied distance learning courses in the likes of autism awareness.
She said: “When you haven’t been at school for 40 years, you don’t realise how much learning has moved on.
“I have loved it; the teachers were so supportive, and I have made great friends.”
As for winning the Access to Higher Education Student of the Year title, Debbie said: “I was absolutely over the moon to be nominated, and then to win!
“It has been an amazing nine months.”
Click here to find out more about the Access to Higher Education opportunities at Redcar and Cleveland College and apply now.
