{"id":9286,"date":"2018-06-19T17:15:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=9286"},"modified":"2018-06-19T17:15:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T16:15:00","slug":"ou-student-wales-adult-learner-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/student-stories\/ou-student-wales-adult-learner-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"OU student who battled against the odds is Wales’ Adult Learner of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An OU in Wales student who was mocked at school and reached his mid-30s having never read a book received the Life Change and Overall Winner of the Year awards at this year\u2019s Inspire! Adult Learning Awards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Cardiff-born John Spence was bullied at school because he couldn\u2019t read, and by the time he left aged 16, his confidence was so shattered that he\u2019d developed a stammer – \u00a0but now he runs his own company training doctors all over the world after graduating\u00a0with an OU science degree at the age of 46.<\/span><\/p>\n

On leaving school John joined the Army, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq as a medic and enjoying a successful military career, despite having never told anyone that he couldn\u2019t read or write.<\/p>\n

OU became like family<\/h2>\n
\"John

John Spence now trains top doctors<\/p><\/div>\n

After leaving the Army John began working at sea as an ocean paramedic.\u00a0 In that role he was referred to The Open University by an instructor, where it was discovered he had severe dyslexia, ADHD, and Meares-Irlen syndrome, which leaves the brain struggling to process visual information and affects reading ability.<\/p>\n

John signed up to The Open University alongside his job at sea and had to overcome his extreme fear of education based on his experiences at school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Open University became the family I never had. They helped me at every step – arranging a computer and software for me, and the books I needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I rang the Cardiff office, I could feel the excitement. Everyone was rooting for me. I\u2019d never had that in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The power of education<\/h2>\n

Last year, he graduated with a 2:1 in Health Sciences at the age of 46, describing it as the best moment of his life.<\/p>\n

John is now an OU ambassador and has moved to Tenerife but still teaches in Cardiff and across the UK. The awards evening was made even more special when John used his acceptance speech to propose to his partner, Alexandro. They plan to marry next year.<\/p>\n

On receiving his award John said \u201cI now realise the power of education and how one person noticing your strengths can change your life. I never imagined life could be like this.<\/p>\n

“I was failed by education the first time, but I\u2019m so glad I was given a second chance. I owe everything to The Open University, and the doctors who told me I was worth something.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A story of real determination<\/h2>\n
\"John

John Spence with his nominator, Ceri Wilcock<\/p><\/div>\n

John was nominated for his award by Ceri Wilcock, Acting Assistant Director at the OU in Wales.\u00a0 Ceri said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted to see John pick up this well-deserved award.\u00a0 His learning journey has been incredible and it\u2019s been a privilege to support him along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eluned Morgan, Welsh Government Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn is so deserving of the Inspire! Overall Learner of the Year award.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis story is an example of real determination against the odds, from someone who went on to excel in education in his 30s and 40s with hard work and incredible perseverance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also reminds us of the power of mentors. Encouraging words, sometimes from just one person, are hugely powerful and can help somebody on the path to learning – and change their life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Inspire! Awards are hosted each year ahead of Adult Learners\u2019 Week which celebrates lifelong learning; whether work-based, as part of a community education course, at college, university or online.<\/p>\n

Find out more<\/h2>\n
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Find out more about John\u2019s story in this\u00a0video.<\/a><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on the OU in Wales<\/a> website.<\/p>\n

Read about John’s graduation day<\/a>, which he describes as “the most extraordinary moment of my life”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Find out how The Open University supports students with dyslexia<\/a> and disabilities.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An OU in Wales student who was mocked at school and reached his mid-30s having never read a book received the Life Change and Overall Winner of the Year awards at this year\u2019s Inspire! Adult Learning Awards. Cardiff-born John Spence was bullied at school because he couldn\u2019t read, and by the time he left aged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":9290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9286","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\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}