Amira Choudhury, mum to five children, returned to education after 16 years to study for an Education BA at London Met. She talks to us here about why she chose to get back into studying and what her goals are for the future.
What motivated you to go back into education?
I came back to education to better my and my children’s life and to extract myself from being on benefits. I want to get a job so I can be a good role model to my children and I felt getting a degree will help me to achieve that.
Why London Met in particular?
I chose London Met as when I visited the University, I liked the culture of the Uni and the diversity.
How did you find the lecturers and staff?
I found the staff to be very helpful and understanding to my situation and the guidance they gave was useful.
Have you had any education-related work experience as part of your degree?
I chose a module called experiential learning. For this module I had to work with young people and reflect back on the placement. I chose to mentor four young children in early years to help them to develop confidence and writing and reading.
Do you feel that there is good support for mature students here?
Yes – I like that they have a lot of support in place to help students to achieve their best. For me, London Met has been the best choice to study as the University has many academic support systems.
I also needed to work and I knew London Met had job opportunities within the University that give you transferable skills you can use in many jobs. I have been working at the University as a student ambassador and through this role I have worked at London Met events and with young people as a mentor.
I have also taken up other job opportunities such as being a success coach where I mentor Foundation students out of lectures. I also work in admissions and course enquiries. All of these jobs have given me valuable skills that I can use in the future.
What do you hope to do in the future, and how is the University helping you get there?
I hope to do an MSc in Psychology and in the future to work in an educational setting to help students to overcome any problems that hinder their learning. The University has been great in providing me with a mentor who has guided me to make choices for after I finish my final year. The careers service has also been a great help in looking at my options after I graduate.
