23 June 2009

First class result for summer school graduate

Adleen El-Ammar will graduate at 10am on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009.

A Dundee student, who enrolled in a course designed to help people whose adverse personal circumstances prevented them from attaining the qualifications necessary to enter higher education, is celebrating after receiving a First Class Honours Degree.

Adleen El-Ammar was working as a waitress in Leamington Spa when she first heard about the University of Dundee’s Access Summer School programme, and how this might offer her a chance of going to university.

Adleen packed up everything and moved to Dundee in the summer of 2005 to take part in the intensive 10-week course. Determined not to let this opportunity go to waste, she threw herself into her studies and received straight ‘A’s on her way to graduating Access Summer School.

This studiousness was carried over into her undergraduate work, and 22-year-old Adleen, originally from Manchester, will accept her First Class Honours degree in English and Film Studies at the University Graduation Ceremony on Wednesday, June 24th.

Adleen is rightly proud of her achievements and full of praise for the Access Summer School programme at Dundee. She explained, “I was working full-time in a café when I heard about the course, and I knew I didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life.

“I applied, got accepted, and came up here three days before Summer School started. I hadn’t gone to uni straight after school for various reasons and was determined not to let this chance go to waste.

“Through Summer School I made a lot of friends. I came here not knowing anyone and it gave me a massive confidence boost because I had to get to know people to make friends and that wasn’t something I’d ever had to do before.

“I would recommend it to anyone who wants to go to university, and who feels they have the ability but for whatever reason don’t have the grades, to try Summer School. Two of my friends have actually done so after I told them about it.

“However, I would say that you have to be prepared to work hard and really want to go to University, but the rewards definitely make it worth it. Summer School did so much for me, and it gave me such a positive outlook on life as well as helping us be a bit ahead of the other students when it came to starting first year.

“Summer School really made me feel I can do things I would have doubted my ability to do beforehand, and I think everyone comes out with this feeling of increased confidence.”

Adleen has now applied to study for a Masters of Literature at Dundee. Although she hopes to one day do a bit of travelling, she is in no doubt where her immediate future lies.

She explained, “I’ve loved every minute of my time here and, almost as soon as I got to Dundee, I really fell in love with the city and the university.

“I’ve completed a course that qualifies me to teach English as a foreign language, and I would like to do that and travel at some point in the future but for the moment I just don’t want to leave Dundee. It’s absolutely beautiful, and when I walk down Airlie Place and see the view over the Tay I just don’t want to leave here!

Since 1993, over 1200 students have benefited from the University’s Access Summer School, which allows potential undergraduates of all ages to qualify prepare and progress to a degree. The course has a 95% completion rate - over 85% of those who complete the course progress to university the same year.

Dr John Blicharski, Access & Participation Manager at the University, heaped praise on his former student, saying, “As soon as we met Adleen, we knew she had star potential.

“When she got straight ‘A’s on Access Summer School, we were confident she was ready to shine, as she had gained hugely from the course and worked with us to overcome external factors that had previously held her back.

“The staff and 67 students of Access Summer School 2009 send their warmest congratulations.”

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk