County Derry mum reflects on journey to qualify as social worker

A mother of four from County Derry has embarked on the next stage of her journey to qualify as a social worker.

Reflecting on her journey, Karen Cassidy Panoviciu acknowledges how the supportive staff at the Northern Regional College helped her achieve her goal.

Originally from Ballyronan, and now living in Draperstown, Karen completed an Access to University Social Sciences full-time Diploma at the College’s Magherafelt campus.

She is currently a first-year undergraduate at Ulster University as a BSc (Hons) Social Work student.

She explained that after leaving school, equipped with her GCSEs and a GNVQ diploma, she worked as Employment Support Mentor in Network Personnel Magherafelt.

“I had plenty of relevant work experience and loved my work as an advocate, helping and supporting people navigate red tape, but I realised that I would need accredited qualifications if I were to progress professionally. 

“I’m now in my early forties and really thought I’d missed the boat, but I was delighted to be proved wrong.

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“I knew a few people who had progressed to university to study nursing after doing the Access Diploma in Social Science at the College.

“When I investigated the options, I realised that I could apply to university if I successfully completed the one-year ‘fast track’ course as a full-time student.”

Karen continued: “I started the course in September 2020, and as I have a young family, it was a big commitment. It was also challenging as classes were online, but this actually worked in my favour as there was more flexibility and less travel.

“Thanks to the support of the lecturers and the bond that developed between the other students in the class, we were able to help each other. 

“I enjoyed everything about the course; the timing, the camaraderie with the other students, the variety of subjects covered, and the way they were taught.

“After contracting a serious illness that led to me having to give up my job in 2018, I hadn’t worked for a while, and it had been much longer since I’d had been in a classroom. The lecturers were so supportive and helped me back into the way of things.”

She added: “After being out of work and away from education for so long, the course gave me motivation, support, and a purpose and helped me regain confidence. I would 100% recommend it.”

After successfully completing the Access Diploma, Karen accepted a place at Ulster University to do a Health and Social Care Policy degree at Jordanstown.

“I finished the first semester and passed the exams, but I knew in my heart Social Work was what I wanted to do, so I decided to start again. 

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"I took a year out, during which I did a Level 4 City and Guilds Advice and Guidance in Welfare Advice Course and applied to do the Social Work degree.

“I was offered a place at both Queen’s University, Belfast and Ulster University but opted for Ulster University.

“I now study at Ulster University’s Magee campus, which is such a lovely, friendly place to study. I find the course to be intense, but the Access course was excellent preparation for university.”

As well as studying at Magee, Karen is also working as a part-time student advocate at Ulster University’s Students’ Union. This ties in nicely with her longer-term ambition to be a social worker.

“I want to be a social worker to help promote well-being and understanding and address social justice issues,” she said.

Ian Jinks, Curriculum Area Manager for Access Education said the Access to University Diploma course continues to deliver a ‘second chance’ to students, allowing them to progress to courses like nursing and social work.

He said: “In the last few years, our Access students have progressed to do university to undertake degrees in Business, Dental Nursing, Youth Work and Theology, as well as the more traditional degrees like in Psychology and Sociology. 

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“The Magherafelt Access team is delighted that Karen is now studying Social Work at Ulster University and we wish her all the best.”

The Access Diploma in Social Sciences (validated by Ulster University) allows mature students to progress to higher education.

The course is offered at Northern Regional College’s campuses in Ballymena, Coleraine, Magherafelt and Newtownabbey. It is available on both a full-time and part-basis and the modularised structure offers greater flexibility for mature students. For further information go to nrc.ac.uk.