Joanne said that even as a young child she was always interested in the design and construction of buildings, an interest she attributes to her father.
After leaving school, Joanne successfully completed a Level 3 Diploma in Construction at the College in Coleraine, but her long-term career plans were put on hold while she thought of her next move. She worked in Asda whilst focusing on her young family but was drawn back to her original plan to work in the construction sector.
“Ten years after I completed my Diploma, I decided to go back to the College to do a Foundation Degree,” Joanne explained. “It’s a roundabout route but it’s working for me and I’m really enjoying it.”
She said the lecturers at the College were “beyond helpful.”
She added: “They were always so encouraging, and you always felt that they really wanted you to do well.”
As part of the Foundation Degree, Joanne secured a placement with multi-disciplinary architectural consultancy firm, GM Design Associates in Coleraine.
“The work I did at College and then the work placement with GM Design were great preparation for university and, because I was already familiar with much of the terminology, so I was well able to cope with the workload,” Joanne said.
Joanne added that when she presented a portfolio of her previous work to the university to prove her competence in different areas of the first year of the degree programme, she was granted exemptions.
She said she’d have no hesitation recommending the Foundation Degree:
“It’s really gives you a good ‘foundation’ and boosts your confidence. I honestly felt I had a head start on the others in the class when I started at university.”
Congratulating Joanne on her graduation and wishing her every success in her future career, course co-ordinator, Chris Keating said: “From the very outset, the course team could see that Joanne had a keen passion for design. She got invaluable experience while on placement with GM Design and although she is now doing a degree in Architectural Technology, she is still retaining her links with GM Design.”
Northern Regional College offers Foundation Degrees in Construction Engineering with Surveying, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Sports Science, Coaching and Fitness, Health and Social Care, Applied and Medical Science, Early Childhood Studies, Computing and Integrative Counselling.