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A student's lament

Seven years after leaving school midway through her A Levels Carrie Anne Walton, 30, from Newcastle, decided she wanted a degree. For fun though, not for any particular reason.

Seven years after leaving school midway through her A Levels Carrie Anne Walton, 30, from Newcastle, decided she wanted a degree. For fun though, not for any particular reason. So in 2004 she enrolled on an Open University degree and now the bug has bitten. We´ve handed over the student blog spot to Carrie…

 

Here I sit, broken hearted,
Should be halfway through my TMA by now,
But I haven´t even started!
 

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TweetSeven years after leaving school midway through her A Levels Carrie Anne Walton, 30, from Newcastle, decided she wanted a degree. For fun though, not for any particular reason. Seven years after leaving school midway through her A Levels Carrie Anne Walton, 30, from Newcastle, decided she wanted a degree. For fun though, not for any particular reason. So in 2004 she ...

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About Carrie Walton

I dropped out of school at 17, halfway through my A Levels and got a job. I’ve worked full time ever since, but when I reached 23 I enrolled with the OU and started on a journey towards the degree I’d never stopped wanting. In 2009 and aged 29  I realised  I didn’t want my journey to end and formulated a new plan which includes a masters, a PhD, research and whatever else I might be able to cram into a journey now held under the umbrella term “lifelong learning and ongoing self-improvement”.



I finished my BSc (hons) Open in December 2011 by which time I'd already started on an MA in Social Science research at Durham University with a view to doing a doctorate in the not too distant future.  The OU isn’t getting rid of me that easy though, I've already signed up for a BSc (hons) in Criminology and Psychological Studies and I plan to keep studying with them for as long as grey matter will allow me to, it’s all part of my never ending lifelong learning path.



Alongside studying, I work full time for a building contractor in the North East of England as a Liaison Manager. Working is a means of affording and appreciating the things I really enjoy; mountain biking, hiking, theatre, gigs, cinema, eating out, writing, the list could go on, I just like doing things. In whatever spare time I can muster after that,  I volunteer for OUSA and am a school governor.



My name is Caz (or Carrie) and this is my journey from dogsbody to doctorate…