The Birth of Access Beyond
The origins of Access Beyond is a very personal story and the journey to standing here in this graduation gown was anything but straight forward. Access Beyond was birthed from the personal barriers I faced when it was my time to enter higher education. Although I had secured a place in my desired university and achieved the necessary grades I was not qualified for student finance. Seeing my predicament my family pushed to raise some finances to help me go to university ( which I am grateful for till this day) , they managed to afford my tuition payments for 2 years but after that they could no longer keep up. I left university at that point and worked in a dementia care home for a year and a half. In addition to working in the care home, I also volunteered in my local hospital as a hand massage therapist and a way finder, I started doing this back when I was in college and just carried on because I enjoyed the interactions I had with patients and the general public. From these experiences I knew that the hospital setting was where I saw myself working in the future.
During University
During my time in university I also worked as a cleaner, I would wake up for a 5:30am start and cycle up to work . I finished for 7:30am and headed back home to get ready for my 9:00am lectures. I share my story not to bid for sympathy in anyway, this is what built me into who I am today and when I look back all I see is the grace of God. I met some amazing people who are still my very best friends during my 2 years in university and would not trade them for anything else.​​​
The narrative of my life took a dramatic turn when I was researching "scholarships in the UK" on the internet ( I still has all intentions of going to uni), I came across the article 26 scholarship by complete chance and after reading the eligibility criteria I discovered that I was eligible to apply.
The university I was looking to gain access into was a signed up ,fully fledged sanctuary university ( this meant it provided article 26 scholarships to prospective students). Each year they provided 3 places and I decided to apply with all faith in God that I would somehow get place.
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The year I applied was the first year the university was accepting students on the scholarship programme for NHS courses, it was like a dream when I got the phone call that I was selected amongst so many applicants!
Today I am a qualified Sonographer with a passion for students. I understand more than anyone the physical, emotional and financial strain that education can cause and Access beyond was Created to inform , advice, empower and inspire students to become who they want to be, no matter the barriers .
During my lowest times when I was sat thinking about my future I remember writing this down.
'From the greatest depths of despair springs forth creativity'.
Our First Student Conference
In 2016 the first event was held in a small church with an obscure location, notwithstanding students interested in the event found the venue and through feedback expressed their wishes for it to be a yearly occurrence and students were also given the opportunity to share their experiences of college and university.
Our Growth
In 2017 the Access Beyond team grew and individuals from a range professions attended and spoke at the event. Speakers consisted of Lawyers, Doctors ,Accountants, Photographers and Business owners, they all shared their personal experiences and provide a real, relevant and engaging advice to the students. All the students that attended felt they were better informed about what the steps needed to take them closer to their dream profession.
Our Outreach Initiative
We launched our outreach initiative visiting providing colleges , high schools and universities with sessions that help students to meet with professionals and engage with professionals from the sectors they are interested in pursuing a future career.