News / Social worker excels
A SOCIAL work graduate from Sandwick received a prestigious award during an Open University degree ceremony held at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on Saturday.
Victoria Cumming received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in social work and was also given the Andrew Cornwall Award for the highest-performing graduate in social work programme.
She lived in Glasgow with her partner until she applied for a job as a social care trainee in Shetland and started working with people with dementia.
Now she is a qualified social worker, her new role is in the family placement team with Shetland Islands Council.
The 35 year old said she was full of praise for the Open University as it enabled her to start studying while still working without the need to change her life.
“It was a nice surprise when I got the email about the Andrew Cornwall Award. I think it just worked really well for me, the balance of working and studying.
“I was working to fund myself through it, so I would do 30 hours a week in placement then another 15-20 hours work on top of that. It was quite busy but still possible and doable.”
She attended tutorials in Glasgow but also had a tutor who came up to Shetland twice for placement meetings.
The Open University’s Scottish director Susan Stewart added: “Our students come from all kinds of backgrounds and from all over Scotland and they study for lots of different reasons, but what they all have in common is a fierce desire to fit learning into their busy lives.
“Victoria is a fantastic example of that commitment and dedication and I’m extremely proud of her and everyone else that graduated with the Open University in Scotland on Saturday.”
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