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A University of Limerick graduate has proved that returning to education can be a life changer as she celebrates the hard work, grit and determination that led her to earning her degree.

As one of more than 3,600 students celebrating graduating from UL recently, mature student Jean Barry, who studied English and Linguistics with TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages), described her college experience as one of the best things she has ever done.

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In her early 50s, Jean, from Waterford and now living in Tipperary, found herself stuck in a career rut and suffering from low self-esteem, but the pursuit of education and a curiosity for learning has restored her confidence and given her a renewed sense of self.

“I’ve really stepped outside my comfort zone and the whole experience of returning to education in my 50s has massively helped my confidence,” Jean explained.

The Waterford native, who hails from The Folly but now resides in Ballina in Tipperary with her husband and 17-year-old daughter, spent over 30 years working in administration in Ireland and overseas, but, at the age of 52, Jean decided to make a drastic change in her life and fulfil her dream of studying English Literature.

“It was such a huge decision at the time, but I think particularly as an older woman, you can lose your sense of self. You get caught up in family life. You’re a mother, you’re a wife and you dedicate your time to that. You make massive sacrifices and put your own personal goals aside. But when I hit my 50s, I just felt the time was right for me to return to education and it was absolutely one of the best things I’ve done and aside from motherhood, it has been one of the best journeys I’ve ever been on.”

Throughout her time at UL, Jean experienced a supportive learning environment where lecturers encouraged her in every step of her academic journey. She credits those lecturers with helping to restore her self-confidence and belief in her scholarly abilities.

“It was their guidance and their belief in me that really helped me to build up my confidence. All of the lecturers at UL were just incredible. Their support and willingness to engage with me was just unbelievable and played a big part in helping me to grow my confidence. I’m a very different individual now than the person I was three years and that’s due to my experience studying at UL,” she said.

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Jean recalls the joy that sitting in lectures and tutorials brought her as she immersed herself fully in learning and found her voice. She explained: “You just couldn’t shut me up in tutorials. I would sit up the front – partly because of my eyesight – but because I just loved absorbing all of this wonderful information that was being fed to me on subjects that I really, really loved. The lecturers were so enthusiastic and had such a remarkable way of presenting information.”

As she is passionate about English literature, the Special Collections section of the library at UL holds a special place in Jean’s heart.

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“Any chance I could get I would go to the library and just spend hours in there. The tranquillity and the smell of the old books, especially those housed in Special Collections, was just terrific. I often found myself completely lost in those books. It was amazing!”

For Jean, the choice to come back to college and study what she was truly passionate about was empowering but not without its challenges.

“It was hard, and, in some ways, I had to step out of my normal life for three years so that I could give my studies my all, but I had incredible support from my husband, and I couldn’t have done it without him.”

Jean’s hard work was to be fully rewarded as she not only graduated with a first-class honours but also received the Silver Medal from UL’s Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The medal, which is awarded to the student who achieves the highest grades within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, reflects Jean’s unwavering commitment to her studies over the past three years.

At the UL graduation ceremony this week, Jean’s husband John and daughter Maia looked on with immense pride as they saw her conferred with her undergraduate degree. Jean’s 89-year-old mother also tuned in online from her home in Co Waterford.

“My mother is unbelievably proud of me. My dad is gone now 10 years, but he would have been so proud too and would have loved seeing me graduate,” said Jean.

Having been bitten by the learning bug, Jean is keen to continue her academic journey and plans on pursuing a master’s in the future.

“Life’s too short and you just don’t know what’s around the corner so to anyone reading this who’s thinking of returning to education, I would say do it. But do it for yourself – not for anybody else. It’s going to be terrifying and there will be challenges but it gets easier, and it is so, so worthwhile,” she added.