With the amazing news that the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2023 helped to raise \u00a352,403 to enable disabled veterans access life-changing education, James Champion shares what it means to him to receive the Open University’s Disabled Veterans’ Scholarship.<\/p>\n
Law student James, 50, made his childhood dream of becoming a helicopter pilot a reality while serving his country in the British Army. James couldn\u2019t imagine doing anything else until he started experiencing seizures, which ultimately led to the devastating news that he would be medically discharged from service.<\/p>\n
Finding a new path<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy whole future literally changed overnight,\u201d James recalls. \u201cFlying helicopters was what I\u2019d always wanted to do, and I worked really hard to get there. It\u2019s a loss that I\u2019ll never fully get over.\u201d<\/p>\n James has since been diagnosed with a complex mental health condition attributed to service, which has taken time to understand and learn to live with.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had some tough times, but discovering I was eligible to study Law through The Open University\u2019s Disabled Veterans\u2019 Scholarship was a turning point,\u201d James shares. \u201cLearning is now a sanctuary for me. If I\u2019m having a bad day with my mental health, I can lose myself in my studies and for that I feel incredibly blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n The Open University\u2019s Disabled Veterans\u2019 Scholarships Fund \u2013 the first of its kind in the UK \u2013 offers those injured during or due to service, an opportunity to access higher education, which can vastly improve their future career prospects and wellbeing.<\/p>\n Support to keep going<\/strong><\/p>\n Working full-time, bringing up a family and finding time to study is a juggling act for James.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for the outstanding support I\u2019ve received from my tutors and the Student Support Team, I think I would have imploded,\u201d says James. \u201cThe support on offer at the OU is so much more than I could have ever imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n Having initially lacked confidence in his ability to succeed in higher education, James now dares to look forward to achieving his degree.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting a distinction for a Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) was a real milestone,\u201d James remembers. \u201cThat was the moment I proved to myself that after everything I\u2019d been through, I was capable of making the grade.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA huge thank you\u201d to donors<\/strong><\/p>\n An unexpected discharge leaves many disabled veterans like James unprepared for life after service, often with a lack of qualifications and work experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI joined the Army straight from school, so I didn\u2019t know anything else,\u201d says James. \u201cBeing told I couldn\u2019t fly anymore felt like trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n Scholarships give veterans the opportunity to gain a higher education qualification and at the same time, develop their skills, knowledge and experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had the opportunity to meet fellow recipients of these scholarships and I know what a difference they make,\u201d James explains. \u201cThey take us to places we never thought possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Life-changing scholarships are only possible thanks to the generosity of those who support the OU\u2019s fundraising. James has the following message to donors:<\/p>\n \u201cWithout your generosity and kindness, I would never have been able to access the OU\u2019s life-changing package of support and opportunities. I want to say a huge thank you for giving me the chance to boost my career prospects and improve my mental health. I\u2019ll be forever grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With the amazing news that the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2023 helped to raise \u00a352,403 to enable disabled veterans access life-changing education, James Champion shares what it means to him to receive the Open University’s Disabled Veterans’ Scholarship. Law student James, 50, made his childhood dream of becoming a helicopter pilot a reality while serving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":24391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1643,2142],"class_list":["post-24375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories","tag-ou-news","tag-student-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24375","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\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}