Germaine's journey at Cardiff Met began when she met a member of staff from the Widening Access service at the Alexandra Job Centre in 2018 who encouraged her to apply to the University.

Following her advice, she enrolled on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and two accredited courses, which gave her the qualifications needed to gain a place on the Foundation course.

This is Germaine’s story:

“It was on the Foundation course that I discovered Housing Studies and was then told by the programme director that my background in Law could be transferred to Housing Studies. Studying at Cardiff Met was also a way to challenge my intellectual capacity and to set an example for my children to follow.

The Housing Studies programme offers many opportunities outside of the course which I have been keen to embrace, including study skills, mentoring schemes, Pathway to Board and Shelter Cymru. Through a placement at Taff Housing, I was able to secure a role as a Project Assistant within the organisation, with many future career progression pathways.

From the very first week on the Housing Studies course, there was a warm welcome. The department quickly became like a little family for us and we could easily access support from our lecturers. We are treated as valuable members of the department and can make our voices heard, thus shaping the teaching around our needs as much as possible.

I have benefitted immensely from the knowledge and experience of my personal tutor, planning daily steps together, signposting me towards helpful resources and reminding me to celebrate my achievements.

I believe that university holds the key to a successful future and I know the change it can make in people’s lives. I am proud of the new, better person that I have become, thanks to the opportunities at Cardiff Met."

"I believe that university holds the key to a successful future and I know the change it can make in people’s lives."