Rachel Street – “Thanks to all I’ve learned through this experience, I excel”

Until now, my academic experience has been minimal to the say the least. I attended a new kind of college course when I was 16. It was brought in after the YTS (Youth Training Scheme) but before apprenticeships. We were given work placements with a day release to college. It was here I obtained a City & Guilds GNVQ in Graphic Communications when I was 17. It was supposed to be a two-year course, but I flew through it. I passed with credits and I felt like I'd achieved something. I'd always been quite proud of that qualification, until I learned it was little better than a GCSE.

Cut to adulthood and I became a housewife and mother, taking time away from my career to raise my family. By the time my kids were older, and I was ready to step back into the fray, I was far behind in terms of up-to-date technical knowledge, experience and everything else. Computers had advanced a lot and so had Adobe Illustrator, but I was determined and self-taught my way back into a career.

After many years working successfully with one company, it was time to move on. It was then, at the ripe old age of 47, that I began to experience issues with my lack of academic accolades. My skills being experience-based, though valuable, were not proof enough for employers to take me seriously. Getting passed over time and time again was my driving factor in deciding to take on this MA course.

I will say, I was very nervous at first. Being a mature student can be intimidating enough, but I was also surrounded by people far more experienced in academia and in the world of graphic design. I felt inept, like I really shouldn't have been here and completely behind the curve. Maybe I bit off more than I could chew. I'm not anywhere near the same league as these other students. Who did I think I was, trying to do University?

The thing is, I'm one of those people that don't give up. Once I start something, I WILL get it done. I'm persistent and I hate to fail, so maybe I was behind the curve… but that made me even more determined to succeed. Not for other people, but for myself, because I refuse to do anything at less than my absolute best.

So I paid attention, read all the materials, took all the suggested actions, learned how to reference correctly and learnt what was expected of me as a student. Thankfully, my own standards and knowledge, despite my feelings that I wasn't enough, were in fact more than enough.

From day one, everything I've done and everything I've learned has moulded me into a much better designer than I used to be. My purpose has found new purpose. My “get up and go” that had got up and gone has gone nuclear, and I feel so much more useful, so much more knowledgeable and far more confident in my own skills than ever before.

I now understand far better about design process and design thinking. I now know about end users and their actual needs, not just designing something I think looks good. I'm far more conscientious by being a more inclusive and sustainable designer. I'm more aware of potential pitfalls and how to navigate them. How to work efficiently with others when collaborating, how to delve deep into the root cause of problems to design solutions that work, but most important of all, I've learned that I am more than capable. I'm not just good enough anymore. Thanks to all I've learned throughout this experience, I excel.

If I could give one piece of advice to anyone thinking of undertaking an MA, it would be to tell them that academic study is for everyone. It doesn't matter if you're older, or if you think you don't have enough knowledge or if you feel you don't come from the right background.

University is for everyone who has the will to succeed. Working for a master’s degree will challenge you, but in a way that is for your betterment. My only regret… I wish I'd done it years ago.