00:13I was a communication support worker which was basically translating between
00:18British Sign Language and English in classroom settings for secondary school children.
00:24The catalyst would have been a comment a teacher of the deaf made to me who was a bit fed
00:31up on me moaning about I was not being paid as much but I could do the job of a
00:34teacher
00:34of the deaf but I just didn't have the golden ticket which was the degree and she just said
00:39stop me I didn't do it. I thought they were going to find out I was thick, I really did.
00:44I thought because I hadn't finished A levels and I hadn't done particularly well in my GCSEs
00:49and I thought that it was going to be another stamp to say you're thick and that's what
00:54I was really worried about.
00:57It has really, I know it sounds like it's a bit of a cliche but it absolutely has changed
01:02my life. It opened the gates to me going to get a university job and the reason I got
01:09the job they actually said to me was because I was an OU graduate because I could time manage,
01:14I could organise, I could do things to deadline, I could do things independently, I could be
01:22absolutely an autonomous learner and that's what they were looking for.
01:26That then led me to Diverse Learners which supports students all over the country via Skype
01:327 days a week 9am to 10pm to fit in with their needs and I now support OU students.
01:39So it's almost like it's come through full circle.
01:44And that business supports my husband Andrew as well because he is a mentor in the business
01:49which means we can stay home with our family, we can walk our dog on the beach, I can pot
01:53around the garden, I can have that flexibility in my life, I can have that creativity in the
01:58life and that's what it's given me. It's not necessarily a direct correlation but that kind
02:04of ripple effect where kind of something happens over here and then you don't necessarily immediately
02:10correspond it with it but that's exactly where it's got you and I would not have Diverse
02:14Learners now if I didn't have you know that OU degree and that OU experience.
02:21So don't see it as education, don't see it as it's too late because it's not like an educational experience
02:27that you've had before. You can have as much tutorials as you like, you can have you know
02:31you can meet other people or not in the group tutorials. So it's not too late because why
02:38give up on yourself? Why not give yourself that opportunity? Self-belief. That's what the OU gives you.
02:46Shards click, do it.
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