Cath Taylor

Background

After graduating from Hull University in 1984, with a degree in European Studies, I began my career in personnel management in the gas industry. Over the next 18 years I progressed up through a variety of management jobs. I also got married and had two children along the way! It was often quite stressful to juggle a busy job with family life so the idea of going back into education was furthest from my mind. It wasn’t until 2002, after some major life-changing events had taken place, that I found myself considering a return to university.

In 1999 my youngest daughter had been diagnosed with a serious illness and, despite the efforts of her doctors and some fairly intensive treatment, she sadly died in 2001. Throughout this period my company was incredibly supportive in allowing me lots of time off whenever needed, but when I finally began to contemplate the idea of returning to work, in early 2002, I realised that I had neither energy nor enthusiasm left for life in the corporate world. The company had just announced a re-organisation, so I opted for voluntary redundancy. For the next few months I languished in a pretty low state, with few thoughts on what, if anything, I could do next.

A friend of mine had recently gone back to full-time study and asked me to help her prepare for her first exam, the subject of which happened to be Shakespeare’s Macbeth. This proved to be the catalyst for two things: firstly it re-ignited my own interest in a topic I’d always enjoyed, leading me to begin thinking about doing some kind of course myself, and secondly it started me down the path of coaching other people on issues such as essay writing and exam revision techniques!

My initial research through the Internet threw up lots of possible programmes, most of which were at post-graduate level, but lack of confidence initially prevented me from making further enquiries. When it came to the idea of actually applying for anything I just talked myself out of it.

By accident I discovered that the Shakespeare Institute, based in Stratford-upon-Avon (and affiliated to Birmingham University), which was fairly near to my home, offered a number of courses on the playwright and the era in which he lived. After much prodding from family and friends I plucked up the courage and made the call. To my surprise, instead of laughing me out of court, they arranged for me to meet one of their tutors. She was friendly, positive and informative. Above all she convinced me that I could undertake a post-graduate programme. I was so impressed with the support I’d been given, and with the atmosphere of the whole place, I threw caution to the wind, sent off the application and, a few weeks later, found myself accepted on to one of the Institute’s programmes.

The Course

I opted for a one-year, full-time, ‘taught’ MA programme entitled: Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon and the Cultural History of Renaissance England. It provided the opportunity to study Shakespeare’s drama and appreciate more about the historical context in which he lived. I chose a taught programme because it offered a mix of seminar/group work and individual study. I wasn’t sure whether, after 18 years, I could go straight into a purely research environment. The course was assessed on the basis of essays and a dissertation, rather than by exam, which I decided I preferred.

The Challenges

The initial terror at the thought of writing an essay again

Going to Birmingham University to register at the start of term and feeling like I was the oldest person in the room

Learning to research efficiently, by not trying to read everything in full and not making laborious notes on every secondary source – there just wasn’t time

Creating a space at home for study – trying to write an essay whilst my daughter was practising violin was a non-starter! It did mean clearing out a space in a very cluttered spare-room and relocating the computer.

The initial enjoyment of researching my dissertation topic being eroded by the relentless slog of writing chapter after chapter. It was very hard to keep the motivation going, although regular interim deadlines set by my tutor helped enormously.

The Benefits

Meeting a great mix of students from all backgrounds, ages, and nationalities. I soon stopped feeling like I was too old to be doing the course!

The satisfaction of producing written work based on my own ideas, and getting good marks for my work, was a great confidence boost and although I didn’t sign up for the course for career reasons it did lead me to helping other students and ultimately setting up Estudia!