Siobhán Hogan from Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of FET, Ennis Campus who graduated from a Level 5 course in Laboratory Techniques (Applied Science) always had a passion for science and was determined to follow her dream no matter how long that journey took. Siobhán originally completed an Applied Chemistry course in the 1980s before tragically being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer affecting the lymphatic system. While Siobhán thankfully recovered from that episode, it unfortunately meant she was unable to work with chemicals immediately afterwards. She also suffered health setbacks in subsequent years.
Life got busier as Siobhán got married and became a mother of two, a son and daughter who are now 20 and 21 years old. However, she was determined to continue her love of learning throughout the intervening years. She studied cookery, horticulture, business and marketing and auctioneering before ultimately returning to her love of science with the Laboratory Techniques course in Ennis. Siobhán chose this particular course because it gave her a solid foundation in the laboratory sciences and the knowledge and practical skills needed to prepare her for further studies.
Speaking about her time at the Ennis Campus, Siobhán said: “I really enjoyed meeting young people on the course and people from different backgrounds and different stories. It gave me a sense of community and a sense of purpose.” Armed with her previous industry experience and her latest qualification, Siobhán is now planning on pursuing a career in science. She is quite clear in her advice to anyone like herself who is thinking of returning to study as a mature learner: “I would say just go for it. Don’t be afraid of it. You’ll be so glad to have the experience and don’t worry about how old you are, you’ll get more out of it the more you put in.”
Siobhán Hogan from Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of FET, Ennis Campus.
Another College of FET learner, Cormac Hanley from Foynes in County Limerick, graduated from Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of FET, Mulgrave Street Campus and is another example of someone who has overcome challenge to follow their creative passion. Cormac, who has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and a mild learning difficulty, graduated from a Level 5 Music and Sound Production course which is designed for learners interested in pursuing a career in music, radio, sound engineering or professional DJ’ing.
Cormac is passionate about music which was evident when he spoke about his experience at the Mulgrave Street Campus: “I absolutely loved the course. I loved the studio, playing the instruments and getting used to using Logic Pro. The biggest challenge I found during the course was the set list, figuring out who’s going to be performing on what songs, how many instruments they’ll need and who’s going to be playing.” According to Cormac there was great support at the campus for those with additional needs: “I had a one-on-one resource session every Monday with my tutor Billy Allen who really helped me a lot with any projects that I was struggling with. If I had any problems or issues, I could go to Billy and he’d help me to understand things better, he’s one of the greatest teachers and friends I’ve ever met.”
Cormac also loved the events and excursions that took place during his time on the Level 5 course. He said: “We had a trip to Killarney where we did a music performance and it was a brilliant experience. We stayed there for two nights and we performed both nights and then after the singing performances we also had a DJ session. My role was doing up the set list, checking the instruments and the timings for the gigs. I also performed on acoustic guitar. I picked tracks like ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’, ‘Whiskey in The Jar’ and ‘Galway Girl’ because I’m a country boy at heart!” He continued: “I would recommend this course to anyone with a passion in music or who wants to be a music producer. I want to be a singer and record albums.”
Cormac Hanley from Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of FET, Mulgrave Street Campus.
Ukrainian couple Oleksandr Hruntkovskyi and Yuliia Onyskovets were also celebrating being recently conferred, proving that couples that study together, succeed together. Oleksandr and Yuliia came to Ireland from Ukraine in 2022 and got part-time jobs when they arrived. However they both felt that their level of English wasn’t strong enough to succeed in their roles. They decided to address this by undertaking a part-time English course at Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of FET, O’Connell Avenue Campus before progressing to a Business Studies with Intensive English Language Support course at the ETB’s College of FET, Kilmallock Road Campus.
The couple explained that they found the business course particularly helpful in picking up vocabulary in different areas and she also said that the tutors at the campus encouraged them to go further with their education. Yuliia said: “The staff at Kilmallock Road Campus really helped us and they also encouraged us to aim higher, to want more and to try for more during our time there.” Oleksandr said the couple are grateful to the staff for their encouragement: “Without the experience we had at the campus, we would never have tried to go to university and since graduating I am now studying Software Development at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) and Yuliia is doing Food Science and Health at University of Limerick.”
Ukrainian couple Oleksandr Hruntkovskyi and Yuliia Onyskovets who graduated from Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of FET, Kilmallock Road Campus.
These inspiring graduate stories are just three from the hundreds who were recently conferred from College of FET campuses across Limerick and Clare including; Abbeyfeale, Cappamore, Croom, Hospital, Kilmallock Town, Mulgrave Street, Newcastle West, Raheen, Ennis, Ennistymon, Kilrush, Miltown Malbay, Scariff and Shannon Town. The ceremonies, which took place over two days at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa in Limerick, celebrated the academic achievements of learners from across multiple disciplines, including: Business, Music, Animal Science, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Blacksmith and Ironcraft, Beauty, Hairdressing, Accounting, Marketing, Arts and Media, Childcare, Health and Social Care, Tertiary programmes and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). For more on courses available at Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of Further Education Training campuses check out collegeofFET.ie
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