College courses for all ages 

 Carol Goode is what she calls a “very mature student”. Now in her 60s, Carol has returned to education after an extensive career where she’s worked in many professions, starting in retail, where she progressed to management, then a nursery nurse for a few years, followed by being a teaching assistant for 15 years.  

However, after lockdown, Carol says that she’d “gone as far as I wanted to go in my current job”. 

After sadly losing her sister, Carol underwent counselling to help her get through the grief. “I got so much from it,” says Carol. “It made me want to give something back, and help others by having a lasting impact on their mental health and lives.” 

Spurred on by this, Carol enrolled on the Level 2 counselling three-month course at Leicester College, before moving on to the Level 3, where she studied alongside working full-time. Carol then gave up her full-time job in education to study full-time on the HND in Counselling and Applied Psychology. 

Looking to the future, Carol says: “Initially, I wanted to do couples counselling but I’m now swaying. I may want to teach the subject so I’m keeping my options open.” 

Student governor role is “really beneficial” 

Carol has now applied and been voted in as a new student governor, to enable her to pursue “something other than just studying”.   

“I was a union representative in education and enjoyed being able to help people going through hard times. This new role lets me help others and know more about how the college is run. 

“It’s lived up to my expectations and more. I’ve been on courses with the Association of Colleges to further my knowledge and a really interesting convention. By going to board meetings, I’ve seen from where the College has come, where it is now and where it plans to be in the future. It’s been really beneficial.”