Peterborough mother completes eight-year journey from completing GSCEs to becoming a qualified midwife
An ARU Peterborough student who juggled bringing up a family, work and studying for eight years is now a qualified midwife after graduating with first-class honours at Peterborough Cathedral.
Gemma Brown, 38, left school at 16 with few qualifications, deciding to go straight into full-time employment.
After first working for the Peterborough Telegraph newspaper as a sales and marketing assistant, she then moved on to an administrative role at the NHS at the age of 20.
At 30 and after doing some work experience on children’s wards and in a maternity unit, Gemma decided she wanted to stay in the NHS but move to a more clinical role, and so began the long journey to becoming a midwife.
Firstly, she achieved GCSEs in science and mathematics by attending classes in the evenings, working around her job and bringing up her young son. Gemma then took an Access to Higher Education course, which is for people that would like to go to university but do not have ‘traditional’ qualifications like A-Levels.
Finally, Gemma enrolled at ARU Peterborough when it first opened in 2022 and graduated from her BA (Hons) Midwifery degree on Tuesday alongside her fellow students.
Gemma, who still lives in Peterborough, said: “I worked in admin in the NHS from the age of 20, and later realised that I wanted to stay in the NHS, but in a more clinical role.
“Leaving school at 16, I didn’t get great GCSE results and no A-Levels. When I turned 30, I realised I would need to sort that out if I wanted to become a midwife.
“My husband has supported me throughout, which has allowed me to change my career and enable me to study. Our son is now 13, and spinning everything with running a home, mum duties and studying on top of full-time placements was really hard, especially as I worked part-time jobs alongside it all.
“I was born in Peterborough, and was thrilled to see ARU Peterborough open. The opportunity to study on my doorstep was fantastic. I think it is great for the children of Peterborough to grow up having this opportunity, as well as mature students like myself who would find it hard to go further afield with a settled family.”