Walking across the graduation stage unassisted felt like a big moment for beauty lecturer Bernice.
“I didn’t expect it to be as emotional as it was, but it felt very powerful,” said the 45-year-old from Middlesbrough.
Bernice was among the 61 adult students officially celebrating achieving higher education qualifications at Stockton Riverside College’s graduation ceremony.
To be able to be part of the procession, walking along Stockton High Street, through Wellington Square Shopping Centre and on to ARC Stockton, felt like a milestone in itself for Bernice who, with Crohn’s disease, used to need a wheelchair to cover even short distances.
Today, she said, her life has totally transformed. Undergoing surgeries and now on treatment that reduces her symptoms has enabled her to lead what she describes as “a near normal life”.
And a fresh start has led to fresh opportunities for Bernice who chose to return to the classroom to pick up qualifications in both complementary and beauty therapies at Redcar and Cleveland College, before studying education and training at Stockton Riverside College.
After launching her own salon, Nature’s Way in Middlesbrough, it was one of her tutors that first suggested she should consider teaching.
Now working as a part-time lecturer at the college where she picked up those first qualifications, she said: “It all seems a bit surreal to be where I am now. When I was 15, I didn’t finish my education. I was dyslexic and used to run away from school.”
Bernice, who has most recently achieved her Level 5 Certificate in Education and Training in the Lifelong Learning Sector, has found studying as an adult learner entirely different.
She said: “You are there because you want to be and not because you have to be.”
For her, the results are plain to see.
“When I was doing my level 3 and 4 qualifications in complementary therapy, the way the tutor taught us was so inclusive and supportive,” she said. “She was so understanding as a teacher, and I remember putting in my reflective practice report that she had changed my life.”
After years struggling with illness, supported by her husband Simon, she explained: “It really feels like my life has gone from dark to light.”
The couple are part of a team of volunteers who set up The Gutsy Foundation, a charity working to improve the lives of those affected by inflammatory bowel diseases.
Continuing to work towards her full BA Honours Degree in Education and Training at Stockton Riverside College, she now hopes to be able to help others.
To see herself wearing a cap and gown as part of the graduation celebrations, she said: “Education is about inspiring and empowering people. I have done it, and I want to show that they can too.”
