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14 Jun 2010 15:27:09
Getting a degree is not easy and involves making sacrifices – Nigerian-born Faderera Ladipo knows this more than most.
Freda, as she is known, has just completed her degree in Health and Social Care at the University of Bedfordshire.
The 45-year-old mature student looks after her three children, two daughters (aged 15 and 10) and a seven-year-old son, in Erith, Kent, with the support of her younger sister.
As well as these family commitments, her studies and the long commute to Luton, she also manages to hold down a part-time job!
Freda said: “I’m so happy that I will be graduating; I was very enthusiastic at the start but I have to be at the station at 5.30am on the days when I come to the University -and that’s really early!”
She attended twice a week for the first two years of her degree and has had to come to Luton once a week in her final year, while also continuing to work part time as a care support worker.
Freda said: “I’m very busy and the weekends are very hectic as I have to do all the domestic chores and take my children to the cinema and swimming and things like that. I’m also a Sunday school teacher, so there’s no rest then either!”
After moving to England 19 years ago with her husband, Adebola Adefarati, who is in the Nigerian Army, the couple lived together in this country for four years before he was forced to return to Africa due to his work commitments.
She was working for Kent County Council as a support worker for people with learning difficulties before starting the course at Bedfordshire.
Freda said: “I’ve been able to manage my time well, with all my academic work and my social life, and I would recommend it to other people in a similar position to me.
“You can cope but you need to know what you can manage. You must know when to stop and take a holiday.”
Freda, who returns to Nigeria three times a year, was also the Year Three student representative on her course, responsible for 21 other students.
She said: “I speak up for the students and offer them a voice. I will always support my colleagues on the course. We have all ages on the course and I’m not the oldest.
“We’re just like a small family on the course and I consider Bedfordshire to be a home from home. There’s an opportunity for people like me here; I feel welcome and there’s a warm environment for everyone.
“And I’d like to say a big thank you to all the academic and non-academic staff, especially Steve Briggs and all the library staff who are so helpful.
“I’m not sure what I will do in the future, I might look to go into teaching and maybe take a postgraduate course.”
