Former Omagh honours student finds her passion in teaching

A FORMER student of South West College’s Omagh Campus struggled to find her perfect career after leaving school.

Though she had great A-levels, Melissa Woods realised that the Degree in Food Design and Nutrition she had enrolled on was not the right fit for her after all, leading her to take a gap year and join the workforce.

It was during this time that she discovered her passion for working with people and decided to pursue a programme in Health and Social Care at South West College.

Melissa signed up for the Foundation Degree in Science in Health and Social Care, which offers a lot of flexibility and allows graduates to pursue multiple pathways, including allied health professions, nursing, and teaching making it ideal for those who are working out which career area that they want to specialise in.

The Lack woman found where her heart lay professionally while working as a Special and Additional Needs Assistant. With the previous experience she had built up in roles such as Childcare and Classroom Assistant, Melissa felt inspired to enter the teaching profession.

Melissa said, “Alongside my placement, I was offered the role as a one-to-one Special Needs Classroom Assistant. I embraced this opportunity and decided I wanted to expand my knowledge and experience in this area.”

Excelling academically, after completing her Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care, Melissa pursued a BSc (Hons) Health and Wellbeing at Ulster University, where she graduated with First Class Honours.

It was during her placements in Early Years Education that Melissa realised her passion for teaching and decided to pursue a PGCE at Edge Hill University in Liverpool, where she is currently halfway through her course.

Looking back on her time at South West College, she said, “I had a great experience on my Foundation Degree.

“Due to our smaller class size, my peers and I got along really well, and we were very supportive in helping each other with anything we weren’t sure about.

“This engagement was key to my enjoyment of the course.”