ANGELA'S ROAD TO SUCCESS

Mature student Angela Brook (pictured left) has been overwhelmed by the media attention she received after winning a prestigious award to celebrate remarkable achievements in learning.

In the last few weeks, Angela has featured on Calendar and BBC Radio Leeds, she has been written about in The Times, the Yorkshire Post, the Telegraph and Argus, and has appeared in Best magazine.

But this down-to-earth, open-hearted woman has taken it all in her stride. Angela is currently studying for a diploma in the University's Centre for Continuing Education and has an ambitious plan to one day set up an advice and support service for prostitutes.

And Angela feels she is well-qualified for the job. After 14 years of working on the streets of Bradford, she turned her back on prostitution and returned to education. Although she came to the University with few formal qualifications, she slowly gained confidence and self-esteem and now joins in class discussion with enormous energy.

She has completed a Certificate of Higher Education in Personal and Professional Development and is currently studying towards a Diploma of Higher Education in Continuing Studies.

To mark her remarkable achievements, Angela has been awarded an Adult Learners' Award 2001 - Award for Individuals, Yorkshire and Humberside Region. The awards, which are given by NIACE, the National Organisation for Adult Learning, represent the struggles overcome by thousands of adults to develop new skills or revitalise curiosities developed earlier in life.

Angela, who has been recognised as a 'top student' for her presentation on drug abuse, said: "I am delighted to receive this award and owe a lot to the people at the University. They believed in me, and I saw it as a way out of my situation. I am now keen to apply my skills and knowledge to help others to become more assertive, less vulnerable to drugs and to encourage them to consider education as a realistic option in their lives."

Guidance Officer Colin Neville, of the Centre for Continuing Education, recommended Angela for the award. He said: "Angela is a warm, decent and caring person. With support from us, and a lot of hard work on her part, she has made great progress on the course. She deserves all the credit she has received."

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