Single mum of three “never dreamt I’d go to university – now I’m a paramedic with a first-class honours degree”

Ceri Evans, a single mum of three, is graduating from the University of South Wales (USW) this week with a first-class honours in Public Services – at the same time as graduating in Paramedic Science from Swansea University.

The 42-year-old fled an abusive marriage six years ago, and decided to move with her daughters to a new home to focus on rebuilding their lives.

After a chance conversation with a college tutor, Ceri made the life-changing decision to return to education, and started a two-year HND in Public and Emergency Services at Bridgend College.

“My mum brought my brother and I up on her own, and our first home was a bedsit,” said Ceri, who grew up in Pentwyn, Cardiff and now lives in Coity, Bridgend.

“We never had dreams of going to uni because no-one ever did; it wasn’t drummed into us like it is these days.

“The turning point came when I went through a nasty break-up. The marriage had become abusive and volatile, to the point where I had my tyres slashed, things like that. Life became very difficult and nothing appeared to make sense.

“I decided that rather than dwelling on the awful things that had happened, I could move out and try to do something with my life. At the time I was volunteering for the ambulance service as a Community First Responder (CFR) to see if that was something I wanted to go into, so after an encouraging conversation with Tony Lloyd at Bridgend college, I was able to finally follow my dream career path.”

While Ceri was at college, she applied to study Paramedic Science at Swansea University – a notoriously competitive course to get into – and when she was offered a place, she decided to grab the opportunity.

Then, in her final year, Ceri was admitted to hospital and contracted sepsis. With just one exam left, she sat the exam and failed on one question, but after appealing the result, was able to resit under the correct exam conditions and passed her degree.

“Once I’d passed, I still needed to complete my Certificate in Emergency Response Ambulance Driving (L3CERAD), or the ‘blue light’ course as it’s commonly known, to qualify as a paramedic,” said Ceri.

“The next available L3CERAD course wasn’t until the following August, so in the meantime I decided to top up my degree, and applied to study Public Services at USW.”

Ceri balanced full-time study alongside working as a traffic officer at SWTRA (South Wales Trunk Road Agent), the company responsible for managing motorways and trunk roads in South Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government.

She was also supporting her daughters through various stages of their studies. Her eldest, 21-year-old Courtney, is due to graduate from Swansea University in Accounting and Finance this summer, while 19-year-old Kacey will start her Teaching degree at Cardiff Met in September, and 14-year-old Erin is in Year 10 at Brynteg Comprehensive.

“The girls make me so proud,” said Ceri. “They are so supportive and have been my rock throughout it all. Looking back, they missed out on a lot while I was studying as I wasn’t always financially able to do everything, but hopefully I’ve shown them that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.”

Straight after finishing her studies in 2020, Ceri started working for the Welsh Ambulance Service, and has been on the frontline throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. She is also a local town and community councillor for Bridgend, and has used her experience to inspire others to gain a place at university.

And Ceri isn’t done with studying yet – she has now applied to study the MSc Advanced Clinical Practitioner degree at USW.

“I’m so grateful to the lecturers at USW, who were amazing,” she said. “In hindsight, I suppose I used university as a coping mechanism after the break-up of my marriage, because it helped me to focus on something positive that was going to provide a more stable life for me and my girls.

“I was so shocked to find out I’d be graduating with a first-class honours. People like me don’t even go to university, let alone achieve the top grades!

“It was very emotional to realise that all my hard work had been worth it. A lot of people don’t realise what they are capable of, until someone gives them a chance.”