Mandy Hrintchuk

Teacher

Completing both degrees has allowed me to further my career and my dream of becoming a qualified teacher.

Why I chose to study at Leeds Trinity University

I chose to study at Leeds Trinity because I had friends that had previously studied there and had heard many good things. Furthermore, it was a convenient location to where I work and live.

My role when I first enrolled

I was employed as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant when I first started studying at Leeds Trinity, and have since worked as an unqualified teacher with my own class. Furthermore, completing both degrees has allowed me to further my career and my dream of becoming a qualified teacher.

Learning new skills

My qualifications have enabled me to improve my practice, in way of having the knowledge to understand why certain things may happen within the class, and also to be able to act upon things with a degree of professionalism. In addition to this, the degrees have changed the way in which I deliver certain aspects of my job, such as the way I set a classroom out and the way that I deliver lessons to pupils. Many things that I was taught have had a great influence on the professional that I have become.

Juggling personal, professional and study commitments

The hardest part of studying for me, was trying to juggle work commitments and home commitments along with studying. I found that time management helped and that prioritising things was essential. Also, remembering to make time for me really helped too.

My initial thoughts about returning to education

I was extremely anxious with regards to returning to study, I remember walking in on the very first day and waiting to register and suffering from a huge panic attack, I almost walked back out. Needless to say, I didn’t and after that first day I thoroughly enjoyed attending university.

My advice to someone thinking about returning to education through this route

My advice would be to bite the bullet and go for it and to never give up, it is a lot of hard work, but it is really worth it.

Our Foundation and Professional Practice degrees

If you already work with children, young people and families and are looking to gain a higher education qualification, our work-based learning degrees offer an alternative route to studying for a degree. Visit Foundation and Professional Practice degrees for more information.