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2007-8
Age is no barrier for City and Islington student
60 year old Cynthia Dennie, has started the new year on a
positive note by turning an unsuccessful job interview into a
competition winning entry.
A bad cold and a worse case of nerves worked against Cynthia in
a phone interview for the position of Customer Assistant for London
Underground, but the experience inspired her submission in a
written competition run across two centres asking for best or worse
job interviews.
Cynthia’s win marks a triumphant return to education for the
great grandmother who left school at the age of fifteen to become a
care assistant for Islington Council, until she was forced to leave
work due to a bad back.
Cynthia explained, “I always wanted to go back into education, I
needed to feel a sense of personal achievement but I was nervous
about studying again and it was also difficult to know where to
start. Becoming a pensioner in June of last year was the push I
needed to start making changes in my life. I saw a course at City
and Islington College advertised in my local paper which seemed to
answer all my reservations about returning to education, and signed
up that very day.”
The course Cynthia signed up for was Skillflow level l, a full
time pre-access course for students wishing to move into Higher
Education, Vocational courses and employment. Core course content
includes Maths and English/Communication skills and IT with a
strong emphasis on confidence building. Students can also choose
optional courses such as Diversity within Society and
Assertiveness.
The course has enabled Cynthia to explore the possibility of
going on to do a degree in English Literature and she is also
hoping to volunteer at local schools as a classroom assistant.
Laila El-Metoui ESOL Employability Co-ordinator and the
organiser of the competition said, “Cynthia is one of the many
amazing examples of what can be achieved at the college. With the
support of her tutors she has found new wings to fly to better
pastures. She is living proof that age is no barrier to write
a new chapter in your life.”