‘It’s empowering’

After a difficult school life, Andrea Lake (English Language and Literature 2018) went to secretarial college – and had a number of jobs while raising her family in Selby, east of Leeds

It was only when she was made redundant from a job she loved that she decided to aim for a place at University. After completing an access course and with the support of a scholarship, Andrea enrolled as a mature student at Leeds – and also won a Peter Robinson Scholarship for creative writing.

She explains that these scholarships have had a major impact, beyond their simple financial value: “It’s one thing to believe in yourself, but when you have other people that believe in you, that’s incredible. It gives you the impetus to get by.

“It’s empowering.”