This letter was sent in by former student at Liverpool Community College, Vivienne Jones. Here she thanks the college’s Student Services team for advising and supporting her in her dream of becoming a nurse. She currently teaches nurses in clinical practice at University College London and is studying for a master degree.
Dear Principal,
For a long time now I’ve wanted to thank your institution for helping me get to where I am now.
I should explain. In the early nineties I was a hairdresser and had fallen into an unhealthy lifestyle because I didn’t have any aspirations or goals in life.
Following a meeting with a member of your enquiries team at that time, I attended night school to do a basic maths and English course with a view to starting a nurse training course. I must add at this point that there was no Nursing Access course offered at the time, but that did not stop your staff advising and supporting me in my crazy notion of becoming a nurse. I say crazy because I had left school with no qualifications. This made no impact on your staff and they completely supported me; one even supplied me with a video to practice my interviewing techniques at home.
I managed to pass a nurse entrance test and now I teach nurses in clinical practice. More than that I have just passed the first assessment of a Master’s programme; not bad for someone who had no qualifications leaving school!
None of this would have been possible without the support and guidance of your staff. I wish I could remember everyone’s name to thank them personally because I owe them so much.
Ultimately I just wanted to express my gratitude, which is long overdue, and hopefully this will inspire others to continue doing an amazing job with people who may not have, on the surface, what it takes to succeed.
I hope this thank you will be mailed to relevant staff with a big thank you from me.
Vivienne Jones
Clinical Practice Facilitator
University College London Hospital Foundation Trust