10 Student Stories

Ahmad

“I am Syrian and based in Edinburgh, I came to the UK as a refugee in August 2018. My dream came true when I was accepted and became a student in the English Literature Department at Aleppo University in 2014. Unfortunately, the situation was very bad in my city due to war, so I had to leave my country in 2015 after passing the first year in the uni. I moved to live in Turkey alone without my family and I had to find a job as soon as possible to afford living there. I was lucky enough to find a job quickly as a receptionist in a hotel, here I first started to use my English skills in real life.

To be honest, it was a very challenging time for me, in an exciting way. It was my first time travelling outside of Syria, first time to working in hotels, I learned a new language (Turkish) and meet people/guests from different nationalities. After a while of working in the hotel, I noticed there was an office belonging to the United Nations next door, who help and support refugees in many ways. One day I went in to ask if they could help to resettle me somewhere else, because I was not happy in Turkey, and it was very difficult for Syrians to stay or work legally. The people who worked in that office were lovely and helpful. After a few meetings and medical tests, I became a legal asylum seeker in their system.

Refugees are unable to choose the country they want to be moved to as the concept of resettlement is moving people somewhere good and safe, however, I told them that I studied English literature and would prefer to go to an English-speaking country like the UK.

A year later, at the end of 2017, I was informed that the British government chose/accepted my refugee statement. I will never ever forget that day! I was shouting and crying because of happiness.

A few months later, I came to Edinburgh in August 2018 as a legal refugee. I was the happiest person on the planet as I was literally given a new life, the life I dreamed of! Now I can live, work and study legally and of course have my rights as a human being. I planned what I want to achieve with my life here and I am so proud of what I have done so far!

In the end, I would say that I am so grateful for what I have in my life now and I can’t wait to make more achievements. Big thanks again to the British government and people, my teachers and classmates, you make me feel like I belong here, and I have never been treated less than anyone else.

I am so proud to be a refugee, it has been my power and made me a better person.

Please remember, it does not matter where you are from, what colour you are, or which religion you follow! Just believe, love and have faith in yourself."

Betty

“My story is a long story, but I must start from somewhere. In my life I have always thought of being equal to others. I got married to an Italian man which I had always loved the idea of when I was growing up. When I got to Italy at the age of 24 years old, I saw people with beautiful skin colours and I started to think of Italians with mixed coloured skin. My first son was born Italian and had nothing from me, the mother, so I took a photograph of him in my hands, holding him, to carry with me so that I could demonstrate that he was my son.

There is no moment in my story where I have not been insulted, persecuted or treated differently, simply because of my colour and my people. Other people may leave their country to get to know another culture, gain more knowledge and travel away from their comfort zone. I left my country because of poverty.

The reason why I am studying in the college is to remember the English language I knew before in my country of Nigeria and to be able to get a good job in Scotland. I would like to thank my lecturers for their support and patience.

Most of the students in my class are women ready to learn, like me, to change our lives. I would like to send a message to women to keep learning and always be open to gaining knowledge as you get older.

Today I have more energy than I have ever felt. I am a mother and a grandmother. I am courageous, gorgeous, resilient, determined and I never take no for an answer.”

Chris

“Our world is geared to suit the needs and circumstances of what is seen as ‘the majority’ and therefore many of us experience the many faces of discrimination more than regularly. Within that world we all work and strive to become the best of ourselves, and for many those transitions are challenging, isolating and burdensome.

In my early years I did not know who I was and therefore felt incapable of the reflection required to become a counsellor; at 52 I had the time and resources and decided, with the encouragement of friends, to apply and begin the journey.

I have experienced therapy of many types intermittently throughout my life, but none prepared me for the power of the people and the material on the course I am completing currently. As a trans person my whole life often feels like one long transition; a journey to become all that I am unapologetically.

My course, tutor and fellow students have accelerated my transition through their interactions with me and each other, because together we, the class, created a space where it was possible to be exactly as we are and to learn from that.

At times that has felt overwhelming but the connections I have experienced with myself and others has empowered me to make many changes in my life, not least my attitude, but also personal circumstances – I have just bought my first house, on my own!

I am completing my journey to become a counsellor so that I can work with my community and give back some of the love and support I have received over the years, and in memory of all those I have known who did not get to my age, because of their identities, not because of their capabilities.

If you are thinking of returning to school, you are already showing that you have love to give to the world and you can do that in your career and in every aspect of your life so, however you choose to show it, all I suggest is that you do and follow your passion. Find out who you are, do that, whole heartedly, and ignore anyone that tells you otherwise.”

Cristina

“I am originally from Romania, but I have lived in the UK for nearly 12 years. We absolutely love Scotland. I have been a hairdresser for 18 years, but I always wanted a Monday-Friday job. Covid kind of helped with my decisions. My story is simple, a mum that changed careers and tries to look after her little family as well. Family is the greatest gift. It's just the 3 of us.

My husband works full-time, days. Since I had my child, I choose to work nights so I can pick him up from school and spend more time with him. I am still in awe of how strong a parent can become. Sometimes I wonder how I make this possible. Well, I always strive for more. I work nights full time and it has started to become harder, but my ambition is to finish my course and find a better job, during the daytime.

On Wednesday, I usually finish work at 7 am and come straight to college. After I finish college, I go home and have 90 minutes of sleep and then I go back to work. Some nights are easier, some are harder, but I remind myself every time why I started to do this course. I have big dreams, to find a nice place to work, with people that care and are kind.

A place where the job will allow me to help others. I have inspired people in the past and I want to do it more in the future. This is my short story and I thought I might just give it a go and write it, maybe it will inspire other mum and dads, or in general, people who are holding off and are scared to get out of their comfort zone, or maybe people that come to college but they take it for granted.”

Craig

“My story, unlike some, has no direct path or relation. I would like to begin my story by reflecting on my time in primary school and high school. During my initial years in my educational journey, I began to struggle with my work. As my peers were off acing math and English, I was left wondering why I couldn’t wrap my head around the seemingly easy tasks. This carried on for a while until I was approached by my school, and they suggested I go through some tests to determine if I had any learning difficulties. From here they assessed me, diagnosing me with dyslexia. My initial thoughts were that if I was going to struggle my way through high school, would I even be bright enough to go to university?

Fast forward to junior year in high school and initially loved all my classes and was beginning to develop. However, I still had this shadow cast above me that wasn’t allowing me to progress. I am not ashamed to say that I struggled with exams during my time at school, you could put some of that down to my dyslexia or the fact I wasn’t maturing at the rate everyone else was. My first set of exams was a wake-up call, and I knew I needed to work hard if I wanted to get into uni. By the time sixth year came, I did manage to turn it around and my grades were the best I had ever produced. Despite this, I still had a major decision to make. I was at a standstill as to what I was going to do with myself now. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough qualifications to get into university, so I investigated college.

Throughout my life music has been a constant for me, even when I was struggling with math and English, music was the one thing I could control and be successful at. I identified that music was an area which I succeeded in, achieving an Advanced Higher at school, so I decided that this was the path I wanted to take.

I applied for a HND Music course at North East College and much to my surprise I got in. I cannot tell you how or why, but a switch in my head happened and during my time in Aberdeen I began to excel, often being at the top of my class. For once I didn’t feel like I was struggling my way through and being last, I felt I was in control of my learning and having dyslexia wasn’t going to affect me.

By the end of my course, I got my HND and was proud of how I had done over the two years, not only with managing my coursework at a higher level, but the fact that a global pandemic hit, and I was forced to learn online. Those years studying in Aberdeen broadened me as a person and made me the person I am today.

Since studying in Aberdeen, I have continued further education and become a fully qualified pharmacy dispenser, and now I am studying Outdoor Pursuits at Edinburgh College. If you were to take something away from my story it would be this; sometimes we must take the hard path or the long way around to achieve our goals. However, this doesn’t mean that they are not achievable. I have taken the more difficult route and faced many obstacles but now I am on the correct path for me I can safely say it was worth it.

If you are reading this and are struggling with coursework, I cannot stress you enough to go and just ask for help. I didn’t ask and it made my pathway hard. Finally, I would like to quote Richard Branson by saying ‘If anyone ever puts you down for having dyslexia, don’t believe them.” Being dyslexic can be a big advantage, and it has certainly helped me.”

Judy

“I started college much later than everyone else, as life has thrown numerous obstacles in my way. When I finished high school at 19 I was still living in Italy with my parents and I was feeling lost about life, I felt like Italy didn't have anything exciting for me, I started going through depression so I decided to get myself out of that situation and I moved to the UK, I was in London for a few years, trying to recover from depression and at the same time learning to be an adult and live in a new country.

I was interested in baking, so since I didn't want to go to University at that time, I was working towards the goal of becoming a baker/pastry chef. I was working really hard in retail and in hospitality to save money to pay for patisserie school. I then moved to Edinburgh and I started my career as a pastry chef. During those years, I experienced bullying in workplaces that made my mental health relapse again.

My anxiety started getting worse and the dream career I have been pursuing for years started to make me feel trapped and lost in a fake dream. At that point I had a massive breakdown. I had to take a step back and take care of myself. I started looking at other options around me and I realised there are things that I'm actually interested in, like art and 2D animation, I've always loved art while growing up, I used to spend all my time drawing, painting and watching animated films, so I decided to risk it and try a different path.

That's when I applied to Edinburgh College. It was around February 2022 when suddenly I lost my job, and was made redundant by my company. So instead of searching for another job that wouldn't make me happy, I decided to take off alone and travel all around Europe before starting my first year at college.

Since then I have been in Germany, The Netherlands, Hungary, and I lived and volunteered in Croatia for a month and in Portugal for 3 months. I had the best time of my life, met so many amazing people, visited beautiful places, but most importantly I was happy because I took charge of my own life.

So here I am now at college working hard towards my goals, and it's only recently that I decided to always put my happiness and wellbeing first. So far, my experience at College has been really fulfilling thanks to the many challenges, my lecturers who support me and the amazing people I met through the course and the events I've participated in.

If I could go back in time I'd probably choose to start college sooner but I'm not let down by being late, I am positive and look forward to what this new path in my life will bring.”

David

“In Spain it was hard to get a job, especially with long hair. I came here 5 years ago and met my (now) wife. After being together for a while, I told her I would be a stay-at-home dad when the time comes, as she really likes her career and job.

But she told me no – that she wanted to be the one staying at home. So, I realized I would need a better career than I had so that I could support a family.

When I started my experience at Edinburgh College, I loved it. I was working on all my days off from college but coming to college felt like a day off. All my lecturers are so helpful, and they really care.

When I first came to college I sat in the corner on my own, not speaking to anyone. I am now happy, have friends and have some of the best grades in my class.

I now know I want to be a lecturer after 2 more years of studying. My lecturers have inspired me, helping me realize the 2 things I always wanted to do; teaching and engineering.

My classmates call me El Professor, because they say that I’m always able to explain things to them if they don’t understand. This gave me a big push to choosing a path towards becoming a lecturer, as they were helping my confidence in teaching and coaching.”