She was among the Higher Education students to receive their awards at Northern Regional College’s recent graduation ceremony in Ballymena.
Sophie, who has just completed the second year of a degree in Interaction Design at Ulster University, said the HND was her stepping-stone to university.
“It helped me secure a place and go directly into second year. It was a bumpy road because of the pandemic but, thanks to the support from lecturers, I was able build on my existing skills and develop new skills in a range of areas.”
Sophie added that her time at Northern Regional College had helped boost her confidence and equipped her with the necessary skills and knowledge for university.
“It also gave me a much better understanding of what the industry has to offer me in terms of future career opportunities.”
The former Girls’ Model School pupil admitted that while she had taken a ‘scenic route’ to university, the experience and skills developed along the way gave her a great foundation for university.
Sophie did A-Levels in Business, IT and Sports Studies and had originally planned to follow in the footsteps of her older sister Rebekah and do a Foundation Degree in Creative Media at Northern Regional College.
However, she didn’t have GCSE Maths and when she wasn’t offered a place on the Foundation Degree, Sophie decided to take a gap year. During her year out, she did a GCSE maths class on Fridays and took on a part time cleaning job at her alma mater.
Fortunately for Sophie, one thing led to another.
She explained: “One of the topics for A-Level IT was creating websites and coding and when a temporary vacancy arose for someone to look after the school’s website and graphic design requirements, I jumped at the opportunity.
“While I was doing this work for the Girls’ Model, I developed a strong interest in creative media and investigated how I could develop my skills further. The HND in Creative Media at Northern Regional College was ideal and exactly what I was looking for.”
When she completes her degree at Ulster, Sophie hopes to join Rebekah, who has set up her own graphic design business.
The Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Creative Media (Web and App Development Pathway) is a two-year full-time course and is offered at the College’s Newtownabbey and Coleraine campuses.