Congratulations to Tanya Moger, who graduated with her L4 HNC in Public Services. She told us more about the amazing support she received at college and how it has helped her to move one step closer to her dream of supporting victims of crime.
Why did you choose to study the course you did?
My daughter did Level 2 and Level 3 in Public Services at Chesterfield College and when she came in for the open day for the university I came for moral support. I ended up signing up myself because the course sounded so interesting! We’ve been doing the same course together and a lot of the group work we’ve been working together which has been nice.
I went down the criminology route of the course because I’ve always been interested in criminal behaviour. I have this morbid curiosity about it because it just doesn’t compute with my brain how people can do such heinous things, especially towards other human beings. I’ve also been a victim of crimes myself in the past and I just want to be able to help people going through the things I’ve had to go through before.
What aspect of the course did you enjoy the most?
We had a module that focused on mental health and as a sufferer of mental health I just found it really therapeutic. It felt nice because I was resonating with a lot of what I was reading and it helped me with my mental health. In fact, just coming in helps with my mental health because it feels like such a safe space for me here. My lecturers are absolutely amazing and I feel really safe here, so that’s always helped me learn.
What are you doing now?
I’m continuing onto the next level of the course. I started the Level 5 HND in Public Services last Thursday. It’s been a good start to the year so far. I do a lot of volunteering with college outside of the classroom. Whenever my lecturers say we’ve got this event or this trip on I’m always one of the first to volunteer and then I end up bringing my daughter along as well.
What has the support been like at college?
How did you find coming back into education later in life?
At first I was worried because all of my peers were young enough to be my kids and I kept wondering if we’d have anything in common. It’s those same feeling you’d get on a first day of school. I soon realised that everyone was really welcoming and respectful. They treat me equally and I’ve never felt as though I don’t belong. That’s made it easy.
What are your plans for the future?
What’s your advice for someone considering HE at Chesterfield College?
“You need to have a good support system in place. I am so lucky with my partner. I was there for him when he got his education and so when I mentioned this to him he was like yes go for it! And now he deals with the kids, the washing and the cleaning so I can focus on my education. I get to be me for a while. I’m still mum, I still do homework and dinners but the tasks that you really don’t want to do I don’t have to worry about.”
Tanya had one more important piece of advice…