Graduation: 3 years on.

Hayley on her graduation day in 2008.

"The huge sense of achievement you feel when you have finally finished uni is so completely worth it, trust me!"

Hayley Hughes was a straight A student at school and had always dreamed of working abroad after finishing her modern European languages degree at Durham University. After becoming pregnant during her first year,Hayley's priorities changed but she decided to continue with her studies through the Open University. Hayley graduated in 2008 with a first class honours degree in English Language and has managed to avoid being one of the thousands of unemployed graduates in the UK. Hayley has agreed to do this interview today to share her unconventional university experience, to tell us what she has been up to career wise since graduation and to give personal advice to all the struggling final year students out there.

Although Hayley is obviously very motivated when it comes to academic work, she did not have any career ideas in mind when she chose her degree. 'When I first applied to study at Durham, I had a vague idea that I would like to live and work in a foreign country but beyond that, I didn't have any real plans'. The modern European languages course involved students spending their final year of university living in a foreign country and Hayley said 'this really appealed to me'.

Durham University.

When describing her first few months of university, Hayley said she was like any other fresher. 'I got drunk during fresher's week, went to 'cheesy pop' nights at clubs and did the least amount of actual work I could get way with'. We can all relate to the drunken antics and avoiding essays but Hayley's first year ended up being completely different to most other students when she discovered she was expecting a baby.

Once she realised she was pregnant, Hayley's student life totally changed and all the freshers partying came to an end. 'Suddenly I couldn't drink anymore, was throwing up most mornings and was tired pretty much all of the time. My enduring memory of that period is of staggering home between seminars to lie down on my single bed under a purple blanket whilst eating Marmite on toast and nectarines'.

Not wanting to give up on higher education, Hayley finished her first year at university and decided she would transfer her credits to the Open University to continue studying after the baby was born. 'Doing the right thing for the baby kept me focused and I put a lot of effort into my final exams in that first year. Somehow, I managed to scrape a 2:1.' Hayley gave birth to her son, Jake, in November 2004.

Hayley and Jake on holiday in 2011.

After having Jake, Hayley began studying English language with the Open University. Juggling childcare with assignments can be very difficult but Hayley managed to make time for her studies. 'When he was very little, Jake would have two long naps a day and I would take the opportunity to get some work in then. As he got older, he'd spend a few hours a week at Play Group and, again, I'd snatch up the opportunity to make some headway on my course. I can remember writing parts of my dissertation in a notepad whilst he played with other children at Soft Play in our local leisure centre'. The Open University is a perfect choice for students with other commitments as you can study at your own pace in your own time. 

 

By the time she reached her final year, Hayley said she was 'sick to my back teeth of writing essays'. Although Hayley had spent most of her life in education, she found her final year with the Open University very enjoyable. 'For my final year, I studied creativity in the English language which was my all-time favourite module. The tutor was supportive, the course content was fascinating and there was lots of scope for doing your own research and being creative'.

Many third year students struggle to deal with the massive work load of reading, writing essays and revising for final exams. Hayley got a first in her degree and has provided us with her personal tips on completing essays and remaining focussed in your final months of study. 'I always found dividing up essays into manageable chunks to be quite helpful - rather than thinking "Oh God, I've got a 10,000 word essay to write!", I would think "I'm going to write a 500 word intro and then I'm going to have a break". Also, if you're in your final year, the end is in sight! All you have to do is keep going! I can remember many times when I felt like just giving it all up but Mark, my partner, would remind me how far I had come and how close I was to finishing and that would spur me on'.

Hayley and her mum on the OU graduation day.

Once all her exams and essays were finished, Hayley began applying for jobs in her local area. It only took her 2 months to find work and she quickly started work at her local council. However, as she graduated with a first class honours degree, Hayley was overqualified for this job and she later moved to Worcestershire to be closer to her partner and to hopefully find a more demanding job.

Finding a job after graduation in the current climate can be difficult but Hayley managed to bag herself a job at the learning disability charity Mencap and she has been working there for the past 2 years. Although her degree is not relevant to her current job, Hayley does not regret spending years studying as she has been able to transfer many skills she learnt in university to her career. 'Part of my current role involves making documents accessible for people with learning disabilities, for example, simplifying complex language and using images to illustrate what is being said, and I do think that my knowledge of linguistics and communication has helped with this'.

Dreams of living and working abroad do not exist for Hayley anymore. However, Hayley has got big plans for the future and is very happy with her life. In terms of her career, she hopes to progress from supporting job roles to a job with more responsibility. Hayley has many career ideas in mind. 'I want to write a novel... and go on a dressmaking course... and start up my own blog'. Although Hayley remains determined to develop in her career, she has big plans for her family life as well. She is a very proud mother of her son Jake, now 7, and in June this year Hayley and Mark are getting married. 

Hayley and her husband-to-be Mark.