Â鶹Íø

Diane, aged 54 and from Warrenpoint in Co Down, always dreamt of studying history, however, she ended up studying for a business degree when she went to university and had a very successful career in business. She said: ¡°I started my own company in 2008, and have assisted many companies set up, get funding and grow. In 2017, I was driving home one evening listening to a radio programme which had a feature about returning to study later in life. It got me thinking, and before the weekend was over, I had applied to Queen¡¯s to study my dream degree.

¡°Current affairs and history have always been a passion, and in recent years I have read many historical books so I was delighted to study the subject for ¡®fun¡¯. I have loved every minute of it and would encourage anyone thinking of going after their dream, to just do it, you will not regret it!¡±

Diane, who is dyslexic, found going back to academic writing an adjustment. Speaking about the support she received, she said: ¡°My School and in particular, Dr Marie Coleman, were so encouraging. It had been 25 years since I had written an essay and being dyslexic, I found that a challenge. Every time I reached out for help, from academic writing advice to finding archival material, the whole team at the School supported me.

¡°I also thought being a 'super mature' student would mean that I would be out of place, but I found I was one of several and it was never an issue.

¡°I did this Master's for me, for 'fun', as I kept telling people. The fun was being able to turn up at a lecture and get a world-class historian to share their research and expertise. My world has been opened to many different types of history. It was one of the best experiences of my life.¡±

Talking about her experience Diane commented: ¡°The campus is world-class and the facilities are excellent. I loved the Graduate School for writing papers, it was an inspiring location. I also really enjoyed the archival work as I am naturally inquisitive, so being able to 'discover' hidden truths was fascinating. I loved going to PRONI, and The Armagh Diocesan Archive. The COVID-19 pandemic limited this from March, and it was a challenge to find materials, but that also opened my mind to other sources that I would never have considered.¡±

During the pandemic, Diane¡¯s daughter returned home from studying at university in Bristol and the mother and daughter team became each other¡¯s support system. ¡°We were a good support team for each other,¡± said Diane. ¡°We went off and locked ourselves away for a writer's week in Killarney in August and both submitted our dissertations within two days of each other. It was hard work but we made it!¡±

Speaking about her graduation and looking ahead to the future, Diane said: ¡°Graduating is bittersweet. I am delighted to have completed my Master¡¯s, but I will miss going to Queen¡¯s and continuing to learn. I am going to keep researching my dissertation topic when the archives open, and I hope to try and get a paper published one day.

¡°The restrictions will limit any wider family graduation celebrations, but I will celebrate with my immediate family at home. A bottle of champagne was sent by my sister so I will have that on ice for a toast.¡±

Media

For media enquiries, please contact the Communications Office, 028 9097 3091 comms.office@qub.ac.uk