{"id":21375,"date":"2022-06-21T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T07:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=21375"},"modified":"2022-06-21T08:00:33","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T07:00:33","slug":"where-is-the-ou-taking-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/around-ou\/university-news\/where-is-the-ou-taking-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is the OU taking you? Share your story on social media"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Open University is calling on members of its community to demonstrate the value of learning and the role it can play in shaping futures \u2013 by sharing their own stories on social media.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In a time when flexible, open education has never been more important, we\u2019re looking firmly to the future to how we can continue to open up new possibilities for students, employers and society as a whole.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We know the benefits of OU study to jobs, careers, family, community and employers and that anything from a free short course to a full degree can have a huge impact on someone\u2019s future.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In this video, Sarah Jones, President of The Open University Students Association, explains how she got far more out of her OU study experience than she ever predicted.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 1080px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-21375-1\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/ounews.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1-1-Sarah-Jones.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ounews.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1-1-Sarah-Jones.mp4\">https:\/\/ounews.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/1-1-Sarah-Jones.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">How you can get involved<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\"> &#8211; #TheFutureIsOpen<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Members of the OU community \u2013 staff, students and alumni \u2013 can support the campaign by sharing what impact OU study is having or has had in shaping their future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Whether that\u2019s improving me<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ntal health, gaining confidence, inspiring younger generations, starting a new career, or getting a promotion, we want to hear how learning can open doors to a better future.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Share your story on social media using the hashtag #<strong>TheFutureIsOpen<\/strong>. Better still, tag us in too!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Reply to one of our campaign posts with your story, also using the hashtag #TheFutureIsOpen<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Get creative \u2013 feel free to share images or video if it helps highlight your story better.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Share some of the inspiring stories with your own social networks and encourage others to do the same.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0 <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you\u2019re not on social media but would still like to share your story, <a href=\"mailto:social-media@open.ac.uk\">email us<\/a>.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Open University\u2019s social media team will be reading all stories and amplifying across channels.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-21414 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OU-News-image-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"Young woman in her bedroom reaching towards the moon on the wall\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OU-News-image-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OU-News-image-768x538.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/OU-News-image.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Share your story alongside fellow OU students and alumni<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For example, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ounews.co\/student-stories\/im-unlocking-a-better-future-for-me-and-my-family\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Ferny Suhandi <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">never believed Higher Education would be accessible to her<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Ferny, who now lives and studies in Cambodia, is determined to show the world what she can achieve and is half way through a Social Psychology degree. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cLearning with the OU has given me more confidence in my knowledge and in my life,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has been a life-changing experience. I feel lucky and proud to become a member of the OU community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cI am proud that I took that leap and to be where I am in my study with the OU. I am proud of how I have changed in the years from where I was and look forward to what\u2019s more to come.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">And <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ounews.co\/student-stories\/im-here-to-lift-up-my-community-so-nobody-feels-alone\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Lea has not only changed her own future,<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> with the support of OU studies, she\u2019s also helping to make the future brighter for others through the launch of her own business.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Lea knew that a degree would not only change her life \u2013 but give her the tools needed to create change in her community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She first enrolled to study <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/courses\/social-sciences\/degrees\/ba-social-sciences-r23\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">BA (Hons) Combined Social Sciences<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0with the OU while homeless and says the experience and the support she received from her tutors helped her to start believing in herself.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She combined her life experiences with her Open University qualifications to launch a business that provides support and wellbeing services for those in need. She has built her business from the ground up and now provides wellbeing workshops, homeless outreach and mentoring services<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Open University is calling on members of its community to demonstrate the value of learning and the role it can play in shaping futures \u2013 by sharing their own stories on social media.\u00a0 In a time when flexible, open education has never been more important, we\u2019re looking firmly to the future to how we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1525,1640,1643],"class_list":["post-21375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-university-news","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home","tag-ou-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}