My name is Louis, I am 25 years old, I studied Graphic Design at University Centre South Essex 2016- 2018 and this is my story.

I left the University Centre with a 2:2 degree.

Before doing my degree I studied Graphic Design at the college and I had been doing it as a hobby since I was 11.

I spent my first year of university at the University Of East London, however I didn't enjoy anything about it besides the view. With three tutors I ironically had minimal attention from them, and the course felt a bit old school, it wasn't really for me. So I decided to move closer to home and attend the local university centre.

The course and my tutors were amazing and they offered support for my learning difficulties and I was able to be diagnosed with Dysgraphia with Traits of Dyspraxia which has always hindered my learning as it was too expensive to diagnose. The diagnosis didn’t help the problem but it allowed me to understand my issues and allowed me to get support.

Doing my degree was like another level of education, they would teach you how to learn, and how to evolve ideas using your best skill set to create better pieces of work. I think the greatest skill I gained l is how to approach a design with more than one idea, it taught me not to just go with my first initial instinct.

All of the abode software at South Essex College and University Centre South Essex is very useful when you go into industry and one that I rely on to achieve my goals.
Since completing my course I have worked a few freelance jobs but mainly I spent time working at a garden centre as a marketing assistant and I recently lost my job in a designer role at a local design agency due to complications surrounding COVID.

Currently I’m involved in running an online marketing business with two of my best friends.

We came together to start business and it has become the best suited position for my skill set and responsibilities.

As the creative director I take lead with any design aspect of our client’s needs, liaising with them to ensure its the design they want. We are looking to hire a web developer so I will be working with them to produce websites for our clients, based on my original design.

My favourite memory of the university was spending time with classmates outside of class, with it being so close to the Highstreet it made it very easy to “pop to the pub after”.

I would recommend the University Centre, 100% compared to London, it felt a lot more like home and a lot more comfortable and it also felt more bespoke if that makes sense.

My greatest achievement has been running this business and being able to pay ourselves a wage at the end of the month feels pretty good.

In the future I want to be able to relax, and be able to just enjoy life? I think if you’re going to be working for the rest of your life, try your best to do something you love and if you can't, then make it for yourself.

To learn more about the university centre, visit: www.southessex.ac.uk/he/ucse-courses 

My name is Will Thatcher, I’m 26 and a mature student currently in first year of my Graphic Design and Illustration course at University Centre South Essex.

Returning to education was something that I thought about for a long time. I never really enjoyed school and mentally I was in a bad place. By Sixth Form, I felt like I was the only person that had no idea what they wanted to do and the pressure of it all lead me to drop out. I still don’t regret that decision, but I think everyone deserves a second chance to find the right path. Since then, I’ve worked a few jobs including a comfortable position in IT, but I didn’t find it very fulfilling, it was time for a fresh and exciting new challenge.

I have always enjoyed the creative arts and I was interested in doing something in that area for a career. I lacked the qualifications to go straight on to university but by looking at local colleges online, I came across the Access to Higher Education Art & Design course and it was exactly what I wanted. It covers such a great range of areas including photography, graphics and fine art so not only did I have a year of easing back into education, I also had a very clear idea of what degree I wanted to go on to study. 

Access to HE changed my life because I learnt so much and met so many amazing like-minded people from all different backgrounds and ages. I was nervous at first but to come back to education and to be treated like an adult was really refreshing, it gave me a new perspective and made me excited to be learning again. During the course, I was introduced to John Chandler who is the course leader for BA Graphic Design & Illustration, he gave me a great insight into what it was all about so I could be confident in my decision. Obviously, the Access course has suited my needs very well, but I would recommend it to anyone, even if they didn’t want to study at degree level.

Enrolling onto BA Graphic Design & Illustration has been the best decision I have made. One of the things I love about it is the enthusiasm from my lecturers, they are very passionate about their subject and know exactly how to get you excited about things you never even thought about before. I am lucky in the sense that graphic design & illustration is very broad topic that can be about anything really so the sense of freedom you are given is fantastic. I also love seeing the sheer diversity of the work my peers produce during each unit, it is very inspiring to be surrounded by all these people.

In second year, we will have to decide if we want to go down the graphic design or the illustration route. I think I will be leaning towards graphics, so to work as a graphic designer either as a freelancer or for a studio would be ideal for me. I’m particularly interested in logos & branding and I hope one day I will have some involvement in professional sports. Designing the next Olympics or FIFA World Cup logo would be the dream job for me, those are images that are remembered forever.

Initially, it was hard to get used to working from home and some days I found it was difficult to focus as there are lots of distractions at home, but this quickly changed as the college and our lecturers were very informative about what’s going on. We also had very good IT resources which is very useful. I also found it beneficial to keep in contact with the people on my course. We have a WhatsApp group that’s very active and we’re always helping each other out in case anyone has missed anything or needs some help. We are now back one day a week which still isn’t ideal, but I’m glad University Centre South Essex is handling the situation as best and as sensibly as possible.

It’s an important decision to make when taking the journey back into higher education. I had to give up a full-time job to return to education though I was fortunate enough to be able to move back home. I recognise that there are many people out there with a lot more constraints and for them it will be a lot tougher, but I have met plenty of people on the courses that are carers, have families & mortgages etc. that are proving it can be done. All I would say is whatever your situation I encourage those people to make a plan of action and if not this year, maybe the next? Don’t let the past define your future.

To learn more about our courses, visit: www.southessex.ac.uk/he/ucse-courses 

My name is Siobhan Best, I am 34 years old, studying BA Graphic Design & Illustration at University Centre South Essex and this is my story.

I worked in mental health care for ten years before having my daughter, Effie and when my daughter started school, I thought it would be fun to do a course to keep me busy.

I chose Access to Art and Design as I loved crafts and drawing in my spare time.  The Access course was amazing and changed my life. It was hard work but I loved every minute, learning new skills and discovering artists. It sounds cheesy but it made me see the world through a new set of eyes! 

I had very few qualifications and had never done well in education until the access course, the tutors encouraged me to apply for a degree and I decided to go for BA Graphic Design and Illustration. 

A friend recommended the course so I looked at the website and met Cherry, one of the tutors, who discussed the course in more detail and inspired me to learn more.

I love the course so far. Everyone on the course is so friendly and supportive. The classes at University Centre South Essex are very small so there’s always support and equipment available. 

After university, I am really interested in printmaking and illustration - I would love to write and illustrate a children’s book. I am also interested in becoming an art teacher.

The difficulties during lockdown have been mainly trying to home-school my daughter whilst doing my coursework and it has certainly been a bit of a balancing act.

I would say to anybody who is looking to start their journey to higher education is to visit the open days and go for it. 

If you would like to learn more about the next virtual open day visit: www.southessex.ac.uk/events 
 

My name is Kerry Thomas, I am 35 years old, I studied graphic design at University Centre South Essex from September 2013 until June 2016 and this is my story.

I left school in 2002 just after my GCSEs and worked up from a receptionist role to accounts payables assistant roles in various jobs until 2007. I then had my son and stayed at home and started a little cupcake company which didn’t really take off. In 2010 I went back to work again in an accounts assistant role until I fell pregnant with my daughter in 2011. After she was born I realised I didn’t want to work in accounts and I wanted to do something creative. I wanted a career so that I could change my family’s future and I wanted my children to know it’s never too late to chase a dream. So I enrolled with the college and did the Access to Art and Design course in 2012. I actually wanted to do interior design however, as I learnt more about graphic design I began to fall in love.

After graduating in October 2016, I landed my first role in a publishing/events company called Media10 and worked across a variety of magazines designing layouts for different publications. After a year I moved on to a creative agency called Powwow Creative. Here I learnt so much, there was such a variety of work from creating social and advertising campaigns to brand development. I was involved in the projects from start to completion and really grew as a designer here. Unfortunately in January 2019 I was made redundant. 

In February 2019 I lined up several interviews including one at Formula One, which was an amazing experience however, I was offered an amazing position at out of home media agency JCDecaux. 

I have been there for the past two years and I absolutely love it. I work in the department called one world which means that I work with all the large and global brands. I help creative solutions come up with new out of home advertising ideas and I create realistic mock-ups so that they can pitch to clients the concepts. I also support the sales team with their PowerPoint decks and any sales and marketing material.

Because I had children and obviously my family life I couldn’t go to a university that was too far away and luckily for me University Centre South Essex was more or less on my doorstep as I lived in Shoeburyness at the time. However that being said, I probably would have still chosen to go there even if I did have the option of going to another university. 

I think because I’d already had experience in the workplace I don’t know if it really helped me prepare for the work blows, it definitely helped me prepare for the type of roles that I would be doing once I had my degree. I can see and I do know the university has helped younger people who may not have had that experience to experience what work the workplace might be like.
The best thing about higher education, from my point of view, is the friendships you make and the inspiration you get from your tutors. There is support and guidance from other people and the pride in receiving recognition for learning about your passion.
One of the biggest skills university gave me was confidence. Confidence in my ability and the confidence to trust myself. It also gave me a firm understanding about the subject in which I was about to embark on a career in.

The equipment is all up-to-date when I was doing my degree and I then went into my first job because I was so used to using the equipment at the university centre I found it really easy to just carry on.

At the end of my first year on the graphic design degree I was feeling a little bit like, is this for me? Am I too old to be learning this? Most of the people on my course were under the age of 22 and had done a Graphic Design BTEC so they were already aware of things that I wasn’t and I was feeling a little deflated. Then we did the final major project and I will never forget that I looked at my final major project and I looked at my tutor John and I just felt in that moment so proud of how far I had come because when I started I knew nothing and looking at that final major project I thought, that's progress, this is where I’m finally getting it and I think my course tutor agreed.

There are a ton of universities that all claim to have the best courses the best people and I’m sure that they do but I don’t think I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for the tutors, support and the guidance I received whilst at University Centre South Essex.
The best way I think to look at it is if a 27 year old mother of two children who has never had any experience in the career that she wants to do is able to go back to school and not only graduate but to also then embark on that career and be established as a designer then I think that shows exactly why you’d be mad not to consider University centre South Essex.
My greatest achievement apart from my beautiful children and getting a degree is working for one of the biggest media advertising agencies in the world (JCDecaux).

I do a lot of freelance work as well and in the future I would like to own my own agency in five to ten years

University Centre South Essex gave me confidence and also never will I be afraid again to chase my dreams because now I know for sure that if you shoot for the moon and you miss, that's okay, you’re still among the stars.

Also can I add in a thank you to Cherry Sandover (Access Course Leader) for taking me under her wing and allowing me to express myself and to John for giving me the chance. He knew I had no prior knowledge of Graphic Design but I promised him I would work hard and he gave me a shot. I want all the tutors to know I kept my promise and I’m still working hard but I will forever appreciate you taking a chance on me and changing my life.
 

My name is Gemma Rose, I am 25-years-old, I studied Graphic Design BA (Hons) at University Centre South Essex from 2015 to 2018 and this is my story.

I finished secondary school and attended South Essex college to study Fine Art. I’ve always been into illustration and felt this was the next step for me. I knew I wanted to go to university, but I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I then completed a Level 4 Foundation course in photography as photography was something I also had interest in. Here I experimented with mixing photography and illustration.

My photography tutor at the time suggested I check out the Graphic Design course, one thing led to another and I found myself on the BA Graphic Design course. In total I was at the college and university for six years.

Since completing the course I’ve met and worked with some great people. I’ve worked with rapper Slowthai to produce album merchandise, illustrated a series of children’s books, produced hundreds of illustrations to be used alongside school learning resources and had a lot of fun.

I’m currently working as a freelance illustrator and designer at a co-working space just outside of Southend with other creatives. It’s a big studio with other creatives doing their own thing. Freelancing can get a bit lonely, so it’s nice to be around other creatives.

That’s one of the great things about being a freelancer, you can really be doing dramatically different projects every time. One week you might be designing a logo for a small company, the next you’re working with Slowthai’s design team. At the moment, I’m currently designing and illustrating a series of books for a client, which is something I thoroughly enjoy. It’s all about bringing people’s ideas to life.

I was a remote-working design lead for a company producing school resources for nearly three years, then COVID-19 happened and I ended up losing my job. But one door closes and another opens. I found other projects to keep me busy and embraced working as a freelance illustrator and designer.
University Centre South Essex was such a good experience and every tutor I had was passionate about what they taught and really wanted you to succeed. It was also convenient location with great travel links to London and cheaper tuition fees.

I learnt a lot of new skills from the course and my peers which definitely helped shape me into the creative I am now. I found that the course helped me think more conceptually and ‘out of the box’ when approaching projects and clients. It’s also helped boost my confidence when presenting work and ideas.

What I enjoyed most was the amount of freedom you have and the good feeling of progressing towards your future aims and goals. Also I enjoyed meeting new people, getting new perspectives and bouncing off ideas and knowledge to each other.

When you’re a freelancer you have to supply your own equipment unfortunately, but I took full advantage of using the equipment available at the university, whether that be the full access to the Adobe software or raiding the cupboards for ink and paint brushes. You’d often find me in the screen-printing room or being experimental with new and unusual materials. 

I would recommend University Centre South Essex as I feel you have more time with your tutors compared to others I know who went to universities elsewhere. It’s also a nice environment, the people are friendly and the tutors and staff will help you in any way that they can.
My ambitions would be to revisit one of my old projects, a book I wrote and illustrated as part of a final project during my Graphic Design course. I’d love to redo it and get it published.

University definitely helped me build my confidence when presenting my project outcomes in front of a group and made me confident in my own abilities. 

For more information on the Graphic Design programme, visit: www.southessex.ac.uk/course/graphic-design-ba-hons

My name is Phil Steed, I am 54-years-old and I studied a degree at University Centre South Essex in Graphic Design BA Hons from/until 2010-2013 and this is my story.

I had worked in the design industry for a number of years but wanted to attain my degree. I have continued to work in industry, but have also now been involved every year working with the second year degree students, including crits and portfolio clinics.

I have just left the Sequel Group as head of creative (which I did three days a week) to go back to being an entirely self-employed design consultant.
I currently run a number of corporate accounts, working closely with a self-employed communications consultant, as well as design, where I cover the full project management for all requirements.

I have been in industry since approximately 1990 and worked my way up the ladder in a number of internal comms agencies before going self-employed.
Primarily I chose University Centre South Essex due to the location. I have a young family so not having a long commute to university was high on the agenda. I also liked the facilities and had a friend who had recently completed the course. Their final show was superb – largely due to the huge diversity of medium used. It was really attractive to be on a course that was not restrictive.

It was a privilege to go back to university and now realise at 17 I just wasn’t ready to truly apply myself. Going back as a mature student I absolutely loved being back in education and using the grey matter. I enjoyed the essays and especially the dissertation (which wasn’t universally loved by the younger participants) and trying different skills – the 3D studio was such a great environment to work with a variety of interesting materials.

My favourite memories was the comradery with my fellow students and teachers. I was blessed with a cracking group of classmates, and the staff across the course were knowledgeable and really fun to work with. 

I don’t have any experience of other universities, but I felt the quality of the centre, and what we produced, would sit up there with any in the country. The building is modern, the facilities are great, and who wouldn’t want to study by the seaside.

I had been self-employed for 10 years before going on the course but what it did was highlight the importance of collaboration. I also undertook for one of the briefs a willow sculpturing course – something I’d like to further pursue. 

In the future, it would be great to have further opportunities to work with the students – even ideally as a part time associate. I am also looking at various MA courses.

I do want to highlight that not only going back, but getting a first, was a huge achievement. For years it had played on my mind that I didn’t get my degree so to complete it.

To learn more about the Graphic Design provision, visit: www.southessex.ac.uk/course/graphic-design-ba-hons
 

Sophie Wade, from Stanford-le-Hope, is in her second year of the Graphic Design BA (Hons) course at University Centre South Essex.

She was nominated for the award for her professional manner and her proactive attitude to work. 

Sophie has many notable achievements at the university centre so far such as securing a web design work placement based in London, working at a Leigh-On-Sea based marketing agency and collaborating with the RSPB on her final second year project.

Her tutor said: “Sophie has approached her work placement unit in a professional manner since day one and her proactive manner has meant that she secured many work placement opportunities, including working with the RSPB on her own self-directed project. 

Sophie has been a really great peer mentor throughout the academic year and all her interactions with employers have helped prepare her for the professional world when she completes the course next year.”

Sophie returned to education after three years of working in local authority administration roles to embark on a new creative career path and was very nervous about starting her degree studies in 2020, but said the staff at the university could not have been more accommodating and helpful.

She said: “I feel privileged to have been selected to receive this award and I am extremely grateful to the staff across the UAL creative portfolio who have selected me as the winner.

The university centre has given me plenty of opportunities to speak with the tutors and seek feedback and support on a one-to-one basis and there is a real community feeling. I could not think of a better way to conclude my second year of study here at the university centre.”

Sophie’s ambition for the future is to embark on a career where she can combine her love for graphic design and digital technology and create solutions which make a positive difference to people's lives.