Anna on Course for Career in Health and Social Care

A young woman’s experience of mental ill health and access to services whilst on the road to recovery has led to study in health and social care and the first steps in a career dedicated to helping others.   

Anna Kirkwood (19) from Dundonald, a student on the Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Health and Social Care at SERC, said “After completing my GCSEs I started my 'A' levels at Strathearn but had to take a break due to my mental health.

“I returned to school, I took up an 'A' level in Health and Social Care which was delivered by lecturers from SERC.  I really enjoyed my time in the class and knew that it was the right fit for me and thought I would like to take it further at SERC. I was very anxious moving on from school as I really enjoyed my time there, but I had heard that the pastoral care team was excellent, so this was important based on my mental health journey. The learning support team at the College have been fantastic and their support included weekly Microsoft Teams calls to check in with me and help throughout my course."

She added, “Going through services made me realise that I wanted to go into a career where I could help others and put my own experience to use. I knew that this course would be the perfect steppingstone to pursue my goal.       

“One of the best things about the course is the Project Based Learning (PBL) where you are given real life scenarios and have to find solutions as part of your study.   This forms part of the 2-week induction at SERC, when everyone takes part in a PBL Enterprise competition. It really helped me to connect and get to know my classmates with whom I have now formed good friendships. 

"My team Memory Captures came up with the idea of creating a journal for dementia sufferers to complete during the very early stages of their diagnosis. It would help them capture their life story and to refresh their memory about all the good memories they have instead of focussing solely on the challenges that lay ahead with dementia.  I was delighted our team came second in the overall competition.

“I am so delighted that I made the decision to move on to College as I have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far. All tutors have been so supportive. Completing most of the first year online was hard but we all made it through and got there in the end and I am looking forward to being back on campus for my second year and hoping to go on to study Social Work at university.”

Apply now for courses commencing September 2021 and find out how you could be part of the next generation of professionals at SERC.