Degree led to a journey of discovery for Dana – in more ways than one

Posted on 6 January 2026 • Arts and social sciences, Classics, Student stories

Dana Jarvis didn’t know she was dyslexic until her Open University tutor recognised some symptoms – now she’s just graduated with a degree in Classical Studies and she’s about to become a published author.

The road to success began when the 27 year old from Holt in Norfolk, who is also autistic, decided to start on her OU journey in 2022 while working as a carer in her community.

She said she’d always been interested in history but kept hearing the fears of friends and acquaintances living with dyslexia or autism that a university education was not possible for those with neurodiversity.

But with a bit of help from The Open University, Dana decided to prove them wrong:

“I thought it seemed a bit strange to not do that. So, I just went for it.”

In 2025, not only did she complete her degree, but she got married, too, and it was husband, Billy, and mum Chris Wright, who proudly watched on as she walked across the stage to officially receive her BA(Hons) at a ceremony in London’s Barbican.

This year marks a second great achievement – the publication by Pegasus of her romance fantasy novel, set in a fantasy world, under the pen name of Dana Kelley.

It was when she was in her second year that Dana caught the writing bug when she encountered a creative writing unit on her course:

“We had to write a very short story and I really enjoyed it, so I decided that I’d continue and I ended up writing this book.”

It’s fair to say she’s never looked back since the beginning of her OU degree. Her dyslexia diagnosis made a world of difference to Dana.

Today, she uses a transparent little purple overlay to help her see the words.

“It stops the words actually ‘vibrating’ is how I describe it. Yeah, I don’t know why I didn’t really think about dyslexia sooner.”

At school, she had always liked reading books but was slow at it. With the help of the overlay, reading has now dramatically speeded up.

In terms of her coursework, she said OU tutors were very accommodating:

“Often if I was struggling, I could just e-mail my tutor and say so and they would give me like a good week extra on top to get the work done.”

She says she also had a lot of support in her job as a kennel hand, too, which she’s been working in since leaving domiciliary care work, looking after retired greyhounds – she has one herself called Roman.

“I swapped human beings for dogs! I couldn’t imagine a better job really, because my boss is really, good. I’ve explained how I am to her, and she tries her absolute best to accommodate me.”

Picture: Dana Jarvis at an Open University degree ceremony at London’s Barbican