A former Army medic has graduated from Swansea University after leaving school with no A-levels, and in a full-circle moment, will now train as a teacher, encouraging young people to pursue their dreams.
For Carrie Power, 36, from the Hants-Wilts border, university wasn’t something she thought much about when she was in school.
“I didn’t grow up with an understanding of higher education; I didn’t even know student loans existed,” explained Carrie.
“The idea of university was never discussed in my house, as none of my family had gone. That lack of exposure meant I ended up leaving school without knowing what all my options were.”
Carrie joined the British Army at 19, training as a Vehicle Mechanic.
“The Army was a shock to the system in many ways. I didn’t even have a passport until I was 20 years old. My first flight ended up being when I was posted to Germany in 2009. I also worked in Canada for three months and served six months in Afghanistan before getting redundancy in 2013,” Carrie said.
“I joined the Army Reserves in 2016 as a Combat Medic Technician. My favourite memory was when I represented my unit at the Festival of Remembrance in front of the late Queen and royal family. I had the honour of escorting Ernie Horsfall, a Second World War and D-Day veteran, onto the floor of the Royal Albert Hall to be applauded for his service.”
In 2016, Carrie also began working as a Transport Scheduler for the Army in a civilian role, but she soon started questioning her career path.
“It offered no routes of progress, and any other jobs were too far away. I thought to myself, ‘Do I really want to be doing this for the next 40 years?’ and the answer was no,” Carrie said.
“I chose to focus on what made me happy, like my time studying German at the Open University from 2011-2013. However, the Open University forced you to combine German with another subject, which just wasn’t for me.”
Carrie decided to take a chance and apply to a few different universities.
“I had some acceptances, but many of the courses required you to do a foundation year; Swansea University’s Modern Languages degree, however, didn’t. It also had the best swimming programme and opportunities; as a triathlete and swimmer, this helped me make my final choice!”
While she found Swansea to be a positive learning environment, it wasn’t easy for Carrie to adjust to being a student again after so many years.
“I found it difficult because I had been through so much in life that my coursemates couldn’t relate to, which wasn’t their fault, of course, but it does make for some lonely experiences at times.
“I ended up finding my place with the Swansea University Swimming Team. The friends I made supported me during the tough times and helped me celebrate during the good. I’m so grateful to them and our Head Coach, Hayley Baker, for making me feel part of something and accepting me for who I am, a nearly 40-year-old swimmer!”
Having recently won a bronze medal at the British Masters Championships, Carrie has no plans to stop and will continue to compete as she enters the next exciting chapter in her life.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my degree upon completion, but during my second year, I worked for MFL Mentoring, a fantastic project funded by the Welsh Government to encourage more pupils to take a modern foreign language at GCSE.”
“I loved the work so much that I started looking into teaching German and French, and will soon begin my training at Oxford University,” Carrie said.
Carrie left the Reserves in December 2023 after a combined 14 years of service and is now looking forward to sharing her new understanding of higher education and its potential with the next generation.
“I want to give them the confidence to make informed decisions about their future, something I wasn’t fortunate to have when I was their age.
“I wouldn’t change my time in the Army; it shaped me into who I am today, but I do think it’s important that all pupils, no matter their background, are given the chance to explore their options and know that it’s ok to change direction.
“Being at Swansea University these past four years is the happiest I’ve been in my entire life, despite some difficulties. I feel content that I’m on the right path in life now, and that makes any struggle I’ve had to go through worth it.”
