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Growing up, Maria struggled to connect to a traditional school setting and found maintaining focus throughout her lessons to be a great difficulty. Thankfully, Maria’s educational experience took a turn for the better when her father recognised that an alternative form of study could be the answer. Although this journey took some time, Maria later found herself in an incredible position where she was able to study a degree in English Literature after being offered 4 university places as a mature student.
NEC’s CEO, Esther Chesterman was lucky enough to discuss Maria’s experience on a deeper level where they were able to dive into all the ins and outs of the learning experience of a distance learner.
Watch Maria talking with Esther about her inspiring story.
Studying as a Distance Learner
Maria’s father had a key part in her education however her journey wasn’t as straightforward as it may seem. When Maria was first introduced to distance learning, she still struggled with maintaining focus. It was only later at the age of 18 where Maria decided to return to NEC on her own merit in order to work towards higher education and a new career path.
As her skills and self-discipline expanded throughout her online studies, Maria was able to achieve her desired GCSEs, and as her confidence grew alongside these results, she decided to take on a new challenge of an A level distance learning course.
Again, Maria’s path had a few bumps, however with perseverance and determination she was able to achieve an A in her studies which was a great stepping stone towards being accepted into university and later developing her career as a Public Researcher.
Maria’s Views on Distance Learning
When looking back on her educational journey, Maria is very vocal about the benefits and positivity of alternative education. From experiences from her own education but also the understanding of her own son’s needs as a divergent student, Maria is a great believer that distance learning can be a hugely beneficial way of achieving qualifications and finding a study method that works for different needs.
Maria enthusiastically mentions throughout the conversation that if she could offer one piece of advice it would be:
“If you are studying something you love, then it changes the game totally.”
We couldn’t agree more!