In 2021, Filip decided to enrol onto an Access to Higher Education Health Diploma with Open Study College. His goal was to pursue mental health nursing, and his studies would enable progression opportunities into this industry.
Filip’s story is one of resilience and perseverance, proving journeys don’t have to be linear or smooth to end in success. He unfortunately encountered challenges throughout his course including losing his job, his health declining, and the threat of homelessness.
Filip tells us his study journey from enrolment to completion:
I decided to enrol with Open Study College in September 2021 to pursue mental health nursing following a new career path in mental health as a support worker. My partner at the time was also studying mental health nursing which inspired me to start an Access to HE Health course to study as a mental health professional. At the start of the program, I was very eager and excited, and wanted to excel in my studies. Unfortunately, only 2 months into my course in mid-October my life rapidly started falling apart.
My family are very religious and due to certain decisions in my life I was shunned from my community which meant that I could not be in contact with my family or anyone that I grew up with for the last 23 years of my life. This was a huge blow, and it felt like I had completely lost my family. At the time my relationship with my partner who I lived with was also coming to end which was another huge blow. As me and my partner were struggling with our mental health during this period, my work at the mental health hospital was severely affected and I was eventually laid off. This was the final straw as I loved my job, and I always valued being a dependable worker never expecting to be laid off. Due to a combination of these events my mental health was at its all-time worst. This pushed away any of my remaining friends which meant that I was completely alone.
This affected my studies drastically which is when I requested assistance from Open Study College to pause my studies for 3 months. I did not want to give up on my course and career path, however it felt almost impossible at the time. I felt like giving up on everything every day.
Eventually, I managed to get therapy through the NHS and found a temporary job at a bookkeepers by the end of December 2021. The job did not pay much so I was still gathering debt due to the time that I was off work, but it helped me gain some stability.
Between January and February 2022, the Open Study College team assisted me with new assignment deadlines. I was still very slow in my response and was unsure if I’d ever end up completing the course.
At the end of April, I started a new job at a global assistance company which was a first step in the right direction, however it also brought extra pressure as I had a lot to learn. I was also forced to move out of my apartment for financial reasons. This house move affected my studies as I was unable to focus. My tutor supported me in finding ways to focus on my assignments and gave me tips on taking care of mental health.
Unfortunately, I was still unable to stabilise myself enough to complete my assignments, and as pointed out by the team, I was two assignments behind my cohort. I was still struggling with everything that happened. In August 2022 I spoke with Katie, the Academic-Coordinator at Open Study College, who assisted me and took her time to call me to find out my circumstances. I explained that I was struggling a lot with my mental health and at the time I was between therapy. I was positive that I would be able to bounce back into my studies, but needed some time to catch up on all the assignments to provide quality work. I was granted the option to join a later cohort which meant that I had a bit more time to catch up on my studies.
Shortly after in September my physical health declined. It caused me to be admitted to hospital for a week as my condition got very bad. This put another delay on my studies that I was meant to have a fresh start and get back into. Fortunately, the college supported me again.
Throughout the spring and summer of 2023 I had to handle some serious family health issues coupled with accommodation challenges where I genuinely believed I’d end up homeless. Somehow, I managed to push through, and I finally completed my Access to HE qualification, despite all that was thrown at me!
Filip told us how he felt after completing his qualification:
In November 2023 I finally completed my course. I cannot bring to words how grateful I am to everyone who has supported me on this journey. Those two years were by far the hardest years of my life and at so many points during my course I had doubted that I'd ever be able to complete it. The college helped me so much and made me feel like I was not alone on this journey. Since the end of my course, I have been moved up to a new role in my company where I assist with medical repatriations. Even though my goals might have changed from what they were initially at the start of my course, I am very happy with where it led me. I think that even above medical knowledge, the course taught me perseverance. I have gone through so much in a short time but not giving up on my course has led me to believe that I can overcome anything that will come my way in life.
We are truly inspired by Filip's study journey, and his story proves that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it, despite struggles being thrown at you!
