'What has kept me on this course is that I have found things in myself that I never knew I had. I am still so surprised to be here at university.

I am a single mum with three children. I had this view that nurses are supposed to be people without children who are really academically clued-up.

And coming from south London, as I do, I just never thought that I would be able to do it. But here I am.'

'Why I did not take up a nursing career earlier on in my life was that at school, I lacked confidence big time and left without the qualifications I needed. I started to take O Levels after I left school but then I became pregnant and stopped. Studying later on is different from being at school because then you are more mature, you have a bit more life experience.

What helped me to make that first step was that I knew my strength was in caring. And I knew I had reached the right time to study because my daughter had just started school.

I definitely started changing when I began the Access course. I found it to be a really good foundation for coming onto the Diploma in Nursing course, and the feedback I received helped me to grow from strength to strength. In fact, it made me realise what my strengths were. The Access course brought it all out of me.

To be honest before my Access course, I don't think I knew who I really was. One thing that stuck in my mind was my tutor telling me that passing my driving test was a real achievement. I had never really looked at it in that way before. It helped me to realise that even things not related to nursing were important, and all of this just built up my confidence.

Courage is important. You say to yourself, 'Can I? Can I do it? Can I not do it? But once you start doing it, you think, 'Oh wow, I am actually doing it! I am still shocked by the things I have achieved. Every successful assignment has just boosted me even more.

What has helped me to stay on the course is that my confidence is higher than it has ever been before. When I am doing the assignments, I don't find them easier as I go along but when I look back and see what I've achieved, I find that I understand more about what is expected of us.

I have ambitions now. I would like to specialise in a particular area. I was thinking about cardiology but when I am doing my placements, different ideas come to mind. I think I am just so excited about the idea of being in nursing, that everything is appealing to me at the moment so I am not going to decide just yet.'