Education is a labour of love for Lisa

It’s never too late to return to learning according to Lisa Ziad, who is set to start her dream career of becoming a midwife.

Lisa had previously attended The Manchester College after school and was in her second year on an Events Management degree when she realised it was the wrong career pathway for her.

It was only after having her two children that she discovered a passion for midwifery, so returned to study an Access to Nursing and Midwifery Diploma with UCEN Manchester and to retake her English GCSE at the College to gain the C grade needed to start her midwifery degree at the University of Chester. She went above and beyond what was needed, achieving a grade 8 in her English GCSE, equivalent to an A*. 

She said: “It was only later in life when I discovered that my true passion was midwifery. I didn’t think I was good enough or had the relevant GCSE subjects to study it. However, you only live once and you have to do what makes you happy.”

Lisa returned to education just as the pandemic hit and found herself juggling multiple assignments with online study, all while home schooling two young children.

She said: “That was really difficult and added extra pressure. I even discussed the possibility of deferring but I didn’t want to wait another year so I just had to do what I had to do.

"I’ve had great encouragement and support from my tutor Nicky, the way she taught us made perfect sense to me. And my Access tutors have really done the best they can to teach us during a pandemic and give us everything we needed.

"I’ve been so happy since I’ve started back in education and I’m really excited about my future. For me that means having a career that makes a real difference to people’s lives.

To anyone considering coming back to education, I say just go for it! You’ve got to put the work in and try your best but it is totally worth it.

Tutor Nicky Smith said: “Lisa completed every single bit of homework, she gave every class activity 100%, acted on all feedback given and had fantastic attendance.

"Not only is her progress fantastic, but the fact that for three months of it she was also home schooling at the same time as managing all of her lessons and deadlines is incredibly inspirational!”

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