The question that drives my actions is, what value do I want to model to my children? I spent nineteen years modeling all the values I believed my children needed to grow up with. If I had to sum that up it would be, a mother at home meeting the needs of her children, always being available and devoted. It took me more years than I wish it had to realize the model I was showing them could have been an excuse for me not to pursue personal challenges.

Whilst I believe you can give a child no greater gift than to nurture them in their infant years, there may be a fine line between serving them and avoiding personal growth. Whilst doing a degree stretches me far beyond what I feel I am capable of, I hope that my children will see that they can reach their own potential whatever their age, circumstances or abilities.

Being a mother of two and studying for a degree in nursing brings many stresses and strains like not having enough hours in the day, the inability to wind down at night, and the non-existent social life, but it is also accompanied with lots of happy times.

My children are very proud of me and often tell their teachers that I am at university. They are more motivated when carrying out their homework as they see me doing mine. The time you get off from university is used more wisely as you look forward to that time out with your family. You become more organised and prioritise your workload more effectively when you have children. You are more engaged in the curriculum as you want to learn, you want to achieve, you want to reach that end goal. Mine is almost here and I must say, I will miss my time at university and I would do it all over again if I could.

‘Mum, are you going to school today?’ This is what my oldest son Thomas says to me on Wednesday mornings. He and my daughter find it amusing that their mum has to go to school too, it is always beneficial during homework time as my youngest Sophia will complain bitterly that she has to read ten pages of her book, I then show her how many pages mummy has to read in her school book and decides, she is better off.

I feel it’s rewarding for children to know that adults don’t know everything and it is ok to not know what you want to be when you grow up. I discovered what I wanted at 27 and with thanks to a fantastic support system I was able to get back into education and aim toward a career that I am passionate about.

Being a mum of two young children and a full time student made me appreciate much more the quality time I have during the week with my boys. I am 4 full days out of 7 busy with college related work and placement and even 2 minutes spent with my boys makes all that difference to my motivation to keep going.

The formula of my course is all about integration – no set subjects really and lots of practical work, this requires my focus which is hard to keep at times. On the days when I feel low, a picture from my sons brings the smile back to my face. I also learnt the importance of work/life balance. I made myself to listen to my children’s stories and I realized I am learning something new each time I speak to them, regardless how small the story is.

When deciding whether or not to take the plunge and go back to university my biggest concerns stemmed from knowing I’d have to juggle student life with single motherhood, I was apprehensive about how it may affect my daughter but I need not have worried. It turns out there are a lot of benefits to being a parent at university but the absolute best thing is knowing that I am having such a positive effect on my daughter’s life.

Since starting my course I have grown in confidence having pushed myself to face fears and overcome insecurities so not only is she learning that university is an achievable option in her future, she is learning to have the courage to follow whatever dreams she grows up to have and she will have a role model in me that will be able to use my experiences to encourage and guide her.

My name is Vikki Lowe and I am a full-time working mother of two children, Amey (12) and Zain (6). I began studying for my BA Hons degree (Marketing) part-time in September 2010 and have studied five long years with the end of the degree (and graduation) in sight.

Being a full-time working mother, I am used to managing my time and being flexible with my work load. This comes in handy when attending lectures and managing my assignment deadlines.

My daughter is extremely proud of me attending university and recently told her teachers that she wants to be like me and get a good job and education when she grows up, I am humbled to be my children’s role model and hope my children appreciate that hard work does pay off. Like my dad once said to me, ‘you only get out of life what you put in.’

I am what you would class as a ‘teenage mother’, however, having my daughter at the age of seventeen didn’t diminish my aspirations or my dreams. It, in fact, encouraged them and inspired me to try harder and my absolute best. I wanted to follow my passion and, at the same time, provide for my daughter. Being in university does become difficult at times and I do struggle, as does every student, but having my daughter is like the light at the end of the tunnel, she is constantly growing.

She fell over the other day, picked herself up, laughed it off (literally) and carried on running. It made me realise that you shouldn’t spend life dwelling on minor bumps in the road, but instead you should keep pushing, smiling and laughing just like Sophie.

It’s hard to pinpoint one thing that’s the best about being a student mother. Part of it is the smiles and the cuddles at the end of a long day of studying and you get to go home and play with toys! But there’s also the knowledge that what I’m doing will benefit her. When I chose to continue with university while pregnant and after she was born, it was motivated by wanting to set a good example for her.

One of the best things I’ve experienced is how my course has supported me and the lecturers and course supported me through my pregnancy, and adore my daughter, and that support has enabled me to be on track to graduate with the friends I started university with, and to know that we have the support and love of a huge extended ‘family’ around us.