FdA Student Testimonial - Julie Garner
Date Published: 07/7/2010
"I have always enjoyed DIY and in 1995 I changed my job and started working for a high class carpet contractor which really took my interest to a new level.
I initially studied the Diploma in Professional Interior Design, which I enjoyed so much I then went on to the Diploma in Professional Curtain Making and Soft Furnishings and even the paint effects course. I wanted to do more, and the timing was perfect as the National Design Academy introduced the Foundation Degree which I then enrolled on after getting so much out of the Diploma courses. The cost of the FdA suited me well as it's so much cheaper than other degree courses. I have a friend who is doing a course elsewhere who has found little support and no workshops - I've suggested she contacts the NDA as the Tutors are only a phone call away and provide assistance whenever it's required!
The biggest hurdle studying the Foundation Degree was time. I overlapped the beginning of the course while also completing an accountancy qualification, working full time and caring for my mother and grandmother. When I should have been studying I was always doing 'other things' and then rushing the assignment as the deadline loomed! Luckily(!) in the final few months I was made redundant and the course became my first priority as this qualification would give me a career change to a better profession. It's tough if you have other commitments but you just keep going, the new community on the VLS is brilliant as you see most other students are in the same boat.
Upon handing in my final Module, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue to the full BA (Hons), but after some time without course work to do, I've found I'm missing it and am therefore now looking forward to doing the BA. I can't quite believe I've got a Foundation Degree, I've met some lovely people both tutors and students, from all walks of life in the same position as I am, looking for a career change and a better future."
