Nineteen-year-old Coleg y Cymoedd learner, Lydia Williamson-Price, has overcome a number of personal challenges over the last year to secure her spot at university, including a sudden hospitalisation with sepsis, the loss of her beloved grandfather, a scoliosis diagnosis, and balancing her studies with her caring and sporting roles.

Having grown up supporting her dad to care for both her mum, who is disabled, and her younger brother, who has autism and ADHD, Lydia, from Mountain Ash, developed a passion for care and always knew she wanted to work in the health sector.

The medal-winning high diver is now excited to start her midwifery degree at the University of South Wales this September. She was inspired to pursue the career after hearing about her mother’s own difficult birthing experience, which resulted in her spending over a month in the ICU, and after speaking to some of the nurses who looked after her when she was a baby in the special care unit.

It’s not been an easy road to university for Lydia after a challenging 12 months for the young carer. In the lead up to Christmas 2023, her grandad, whom she considered to be her best friend, passed away. Then, at the start of the new year, she was suddenly taken ill with glandular fever and sepsis, which led to infections harming the function of her organs and a hospital stay in the ICU of more than two weeks over her birthday. As a result, Lydia had to take two months off college to recover. Having lost all her strength, the illness also put a stop to one of her passions – sport, in particular high diving, which she had been doing since she was six years old and had become a teacher herself at Aberdare Leisure Centre as soon as she turned 16, delivering evening classes four times a week to children and adults, all while studying.