A mother of three who thought she had missed her opportunity to go to university is celebrating after graduating with a Masters degree that helped land her dream job.
Kate Walker felt university had passed her by after having her children at a young age, but a chance conversation with her eldest daughter saw her return to education and set her on course to achieve her goal of becoming a social worker.
The 44-year-old initially enrolled on an undergraduate degree in Childhood and Youth combined with Social Policy before progressing to an MA in Social Work which saw her secure a role with Cheshire West and Chester Council.
And, the former retail worker said her new career has given her a fresh purpose as she celebrated at Hope’s Winter Graduation ceremony.
It was a particularly special day for Kate, whose studies were disrupted by a cancer diagnosis which has since been declared incurable, and she reflected with pride on her inspirational achievements.
“I am incredibly proud of myself,” she said. “After everything I have been through and everything I am still going through, to have graduated feels epic.
“I had my children really young and university was the one thing I felt I missed out on
“My eldest daughter dropped out of college when she was 18 and when I found out I was angry and upset because I thought she wouldn’t be able to go to university.
“She said to me, ‘you only want me to do it because you haven’t’ and she was right. I realised it was my dream, not hers, and I wanted her to do it so I could experience it and it was that which made me decide I had to do it.
“To have done a degree and a masters to become a social worker was my biggest goal, so to have done that does just feel epic.
“I wasn’t enjoying working in retail but now I am doing something I love. No two days are the same. I love working with children and the team at Cheshire West are fantastic.
“I finally feel like I am doing something meaningful.”
Kate works in the Permanence Team at Cheshire West, where she is responsible for working on adoption or long term fostering with children and families.
It’s a role she enjoys due to the fact no two days are the same and it is one she feels well prepared for after her time at Hope.
Whilst there were challenges during the course of her degree, she has no regrets over returning to study as a mature student.
Indeed, she has even inspired her youngest daughter to follow in her footsteps by enrolling on the University’s BA (Hons) Social Work course.
“When I came to the Open Day at Hope, something just felt right and I don’t regret the decision at all,” she added.
“I can’t rate the University enough. The quality of the teaching is great and so is the level of support you get – if you need it, someone is always there to help.
“For anyone thinking of going to university as a mature student, my advice would be to go for it.”