WIDENING access programmes at Glasgow University and the vital work of colleges offered a lifeline to 40-year-old Paula Christie.
Growing up near Helensburgh, in Argyll and Bute, she first applied to go to university in 1993 after leaving school with a strong set of Higher results.
Although she didn't know what she wanted to study she was the first in her family to get the chance to go to university and felt she would be letting down her parents and teachers if she didn't go.
However, she struggled to fit in, felt she had chosen the wrong course and became increasingly lonely and miserable, eventually dropping out.
Some years later, after having a family, she decided to return to education after becoming disillusioned with her part-time minimum wage job working for a private ironing service.
She said: "I heard a radio advert for Clydebank College encouraging people to re-train. I felt I was capable of achieving something more with my life and that applying for a college course could help turn things around."
Once at college she was taken into a widening access scheme and from there moved to Glasgow University to study Politics and Central and East European Studies.
After securing a first class honours degree she won a five year scholarship from the Economic and Social Research Council and began a postgraduate programme. She is currently in the first year of a three year PhD course in Central and East European Studies.
"Without exaggeration, the widening access scheme allowed me to change my life and the life of my family completely," she said.
"Working part-time after having my children placed a huge financial strain on us and my career choices were becoming increasingly limited. "Although, at times, it was tough to deal with the continued pressure of studying, I received much needed financial support from the university which allowed me to complete my undergraduate study. I now have qualifications that I never thought possible before returning to college."
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