News - cooking up a great future
Cornwall College press release
A single mother in her late twenties from Camborne has overcome the odds to excel on a culinary arts course at Cornwall College.
Being a mother of three young boys, and working as a Food Technology Technician, means Louise Symons has a lot of demands on her time. But she still finds enough hours in the day to study for her university course at Cornwall College, hoping to improve her qualifications and ultimately her career.
"The structure of the course has allowed me to balance all my commitments alongside the foundation degree," Louise explains. She attends College three days a week for lectures and practical sessions, giving her the chance to perfect her culinary skills.
"The College is close to my home," she continues, "so it's ideal for me to get to lessons. The course is extremely dynamic, covering a variety of topics which have given me a good all round understanding of the subject and the industry."
"Louise is an inspiration to others," says Louise's tutor, Stuart Mathieson. "She is one of the best students on the course this year, and is so committed to doing well, even though she is a single mother with very little free time to commit to studying."
A foundation degree provides a good alternative to a traditional honours degree. It is vocational so prepares students for employment; people from local and national companies help to design the courses, so Louise is getting the skills that employers want, improving her job prospects and getting a real taste of the industry.
"Our growing range of flexible university courses helps us make the impossible possible for people in our local community," says John Latham, Principal of Cornwall College. "Students like Louise show the real benefits of studying at a higher level and we wish her all the best with her studies."
"My course and the lecturers have been fantastic," she says. "I'm so glad it's structured in such a way that it's allowed me to have this wonderful opportunity."
Cornwall College offers four hospitality and catering foundation degrees, including a new one in Cruise Ship Operations. If you're interested in following in Louise's footsteps and giving your career a boost, it's not too late to apply for university courses starting this September - call 0845 22 32 567 to find out what's available and how to apply.
Louise did and she hasn't looked back: "I hope to become a food technology teacher when I graduate, but at the moment I'm just enjoying it - it's been a truly wonderful experience and I wouldn't have missed it for the world."