Georgia Cruise is looking forward to a career as a mental health nurse after her Telford College studies allowed her to land a place at university.
Georgia, 22, from Ketley, arrived at the college in 2012, initially on a health and social care level two course.
She said the smaller class sizes at the college helped her to gain the English GCSE grade she needed to progress her studies, and graduate onto the level three course.
She is now in her third year at Sheffield’s Hallam University, where her mental health nursing degree course includes the opportunity of many work placements.
Georgia said: “Having those smaller class sizes at Telford College for my English studies improved my focus and confidence.
“I had always been interested in a nursing-type career, but was not aware of all the options. When I started my level three course, I became very interested in mental health.”
Her university application was aided by the fact that Telford College gave Georgia the chance of work placements at Cartlidge House in Wellington, supporting elderly people with different needs, including dementia.
From her work experience, Georgia was able to secure a job there – and she recalls how she was able to relate questions from her experience at Cartlidge House to the questions she faced during her university interview.
“I’m really enjoying the Sheffield course, as I spend up to half of the year in different work placements, for example in hospital wards and working with the mental health community teams.
“This has allowed me the opportunity to experience different environments and decide which area of mental health I would like to start a career in.”
As she looks towards the start of her career, she says she is keen to work with young people in a ward setting.
