Sheree O’Neil is coming to the end of her first year at Anglia Ruskin University, where she’s training to become a nurse. It’s a milestone that, not long ago, felt completely out of reach.
At 37, Sheree is a single mum of five, two of whom have additional needs. She left school with no qualifications and had spent over a decade raising her family full time. “I was married for 12 years, and I’d been at home raising the kids. I got to a point where I knew the marriage was going to end, and I remember thinking, what am I going to do? I’m not going to get a job. I haven’t got anything. No career, no qualifications. I didn’t know where to start.”
Sheree O’Neil, Access to HE studentWhat am I going to do? I’m not going to get a job. I haven’t got anything. No career, no qualifications. I didn’t know where to start.
Her first step came unexpectedly, through her son. “He’d failed his GCSEs and I was going on at him about how important they were. He turned round and said, ‘You’ve never done them, you don’t understand.’ So I said, ‘Fine, we’ll do it together.’”
That one decision opened the door to something much bigger. After completing her GCSEs in English and later maths, Sheree enrolled on an Access to Higher Education Diploma in Health Professionals, delivered by USP College and awarded by Gateway Qualifications.
She admits she was nervous at first. “I thought I was too old, that I wouldn’t fit in. But once I started, I realised I could actually do it. And I really enjoyed it. I was learning how to learn.”
Sheree O’Neil, Access to HE studentI thought I was too old, that I wouldn’t fit in. But once I started, I realised I could actually do it. And I really enjoyed it. I was learning how to learn.
Access to HE was developed for adults who didn’t follow the traditional school-to-university route. It supports people who’ve been out of education for a while, and want to study subjects like nursing, teaching, social work or science – and many more exciting opportunities. For Sheree, the course gave her a way forward, giving her structure and purpose when everything else felt like it was falling apart.
Just weeks before the course began, her brother died unexpectedly. On her very first day at college, her father passed away. Not long after, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. At the same time, she was going through a separation, made homeless, and ended up in emergency accommodation with all five children in a single hotel room.
“It was chaos. There was no kitchen, nowhere to study. I was trying to keep the kids going, get them to school, and get myself to college. But I kept thinking, if I give up now, that’s it.”
Despite everything, Sheree showed up. She rarely missed a lesson and consistently handed in her work on time. With support from her tutors, especially her course leader, Tracey, she pushed through every setback. “Tracey never let me quit. She just kept saying, ‘You’ve come this far, we’ll get you through it.’”
Although her dyslexia was only picked up after she started university, the college helped her improve her academic work. “When I first started, my writing was terrible,” she says. “But they gave me loads of support and showed me different ways to do things. By the end, I was doing really well.”
Sheree O’Neil, Access to HE studentWhen I first started, my writing was terrible, but the college gave me loads of support and showed me different ways to do things. By the end, I was doing really well.
Her hard work paid off. She completed the course with top grades and secured a place at university. She also won a Keith Fletcher Award for Outstanding Commitment to Study, a national award recognising Access to HE students who have overcome exceptional personal circumstances. “When I got the award, I thought it would be a little certificate,” she says. “Next thing I knew, I was standing in the Houses of Parliament. It was surreal.”
Now nearly finished with her first year at ARU, she’s thriving. “I’m on placement in a hyper-acute stroke ward. It’s full on, but I feel like I’m where I’m meant to be.” She originally planned to go into midwifery but is now considering intensive care. “I’m still deciding, but I know I want to be somewhere that challenges me.”
After more than a year in temporary accommodation, she and her children were recently rehoused, thanks in part to a conversation with an MP at the Keith Fletcher Award event. “We’ve got space now. A garden. I’ve got my own bedroom. After sleeping on the floor for a year and a half, that’s huge.”
Sheree O’Neil, Access to HE studentDon’t wait to get started. Life’s never going to be perfect. You just have to start. And if you do, there’s support out there. You’re not on your own.
For Sheree, the Access to HE Diploma wasn’t just a route into university. It was the foundation for an entirely different life. “It gave me purpose when everything else was falling apart. It helped me believe I could do more. And now I’m showing my children that anything is possible.”
To anyone wondering whether to take that first step, her message is clear: “Don’t wait. Life’s never going to be perfect. You just have to start. And if you do, there’s support out there. You’re not on your own.”