“I grew up in a busy home in Ballymun where I was the third youngest of seven. My dream was to be a teacher, and I knew that meant going to college. However, it was only when my older brother started in DCU that I began to imagine myself in university. Seeing him go to college just down the road made me think that university was a possibility for me too. I used to pass DCU on the bus and think, I want to get off at this stop and go in.

In school, we had visits from the DCU Access Outreach Programme, who spoke to us about university and how to apply. Although we’re the first generation of the family to go to university, my brother’s experience with the DCU Access Programme and his belief in me made me realise that I could do this. My twin sister and I started university the same year, so we were worried about the financial side of things. Without Access and the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grant we would have faced a lot more barriers.

The support of the DCU Access Programme means a lot. It’s incredible to have someone you can go to with any of your problems, and financial supports like lunch vouchers and the scholarship are really helpful.

I’m in my final year now, studying Religious Education and History. I think it’s my own enjoyment of learning that makes me want to teach, because you’re sharing that with your students. I hope that next year, I’ll be working as a secondary school teacher in the same area I grew up in.

I want the students I teach to see that college could be for them, and I want to make school a positive place to be. Access has changed my life – and I hope I can pass that on to other young people like me.”