Soulaf Almustafa is preparing to study a master’s degree at Birmingham City University, four years after completing an access to higher education course at Telford College.
After moving to the area from Syria in 2017, Soulaf initially signed up to study level one health and social care, whilst studying functional skills English and maths.
“Ever since I was young, I’d always wanted to be a doctor” says Soulaf. “All the way through my studies at school, I had an interest in science and I worked hard at biology and chemistry.
“When I arrived in the UK, the education system was so different – in Syria we don’t have colleges, just school and university. It was a bit of a shock to me how different the education systems were!
“I couldn’t study A levels without my English and maths level 2, but I wanted to work towards a career in the health sector, so decided to study health and social care instead.
“I didn’t realise how many career paths were available. When I finished my second year in health and social care, I was 19 and I wanted to start my journey to university as soon as possible.”
“When I first started at the college, I didn’t speak English, but during those two years learning health & social care, functional skills English and maths gave me the confidence to take the next step to study the access to higher education course.
The access to higher education courses at the college tailor two years of study into one, with a focus on science, healthcare or social science. As well as relevant course topics, the programme prepares students for university, with a focus on research and essay writing.
“I enjoyed the diverse curriculum on the course. The science topics covered included in-depth research into biology, chemistry and physics. The support I had on my access course was great, even though it was in the pandemic and the course was 100% online.
“My tutors did their best to support me, being available whenever I needed support through teams or email. It was a really good experience, even if we couldn’t meet face-to-face until the end of my studies.”
After finishing her studies at Telford College, Soulaf went on to study a biomedical science degree at Coventry University. She is currently taking a gap year, where she is working as a support worker to compliment her studies, before starting a master’s degree in therapeutic radiology at Birmingham City University.
“I was originally looking at microbiology for master’s study, however I saw the career paths available in radiography, as well as speaking to professionals in the field, and I knew it was the subject for me.
“My dream job is to be a therapeutic radiographer. It’s incredible how you can fight cancer cells through radiography, it’s very rewarding to help people.
“Personally, I find it touching as I have lost somebody through cancer. We don’t have a complete cure for it, so the opportunity to help anybody suffering would be amazing for me.”
Tania Morgan, health and social care lecturer at Telford College, said: “We’re so proud of Soulaf; when she first started at the college, she had very limited English and didn’t have the correct qualifications to study a higher level.
“The journey she’s been on, from level one to two and then a massive leap to an access to higher education course, is incredible. The work she’s done, including learning English and getting distinctions in her health studies, shows how dedicated she is at her studies.”
