Our Scholars
What distinguishes Uversity's Scholars is their commitment to being transformed and transforming others as a result of the Scholarship and educational experience.
Meet Our Scholars
These brief profiles of Uversity’s Scholars provide an indication of their diverse experiences, locations, and disciplines. They are unified by their inspirational ambition and determination.
Ciara Hicks
Hayden Nightingale
Karen Horan
Michelle Murray
Octavian Visan
Patrick Lynch
Ciara Hicks
Ciara worked in the gaming sector prior to returning to education initially at the Cork College of Commerce. After her degree, Ciara intends to complete a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She eventually wants to “work as a mental health professional in Cork City in the public sector and provide therapies and support to people who need it and improve people’s quality of life.”
Hayden Nightingale
Hayden was motivated to return to education when he gave up his job to move back home to help care for his mother. Knowing that he “wasn’t living up to his potential” and wanted to find a career he had a passion for, he enrolled on Belfast Metropolitan College’s Access Diploma in Mathematics and Computing. After his degree, Hayden may pursue a Master’s in Corporate Governance and hopes to specialise “in the programming development side of the IT industry and more long term work on a self-employed basis and develop my own company.”
Karen Horan
Karen was brought up in a working class community and experienced the difficulties faced by the community in relation to equal justice. By working for Inclusion Ireland she built up skills in information provision. She went onto volunteer as a Citizen Information Officer, where she developed a passionate interest in Law. She recently joined the National Advocacy Service as the National Administrator where she works full-time while completing her degree. Karen intends to use her legal knowledge to give back to the community that has given her so much.
Michelle Murray
Michelle’s passion is for animal welfare, particularly horses. In 2016, she set up a project to support equine health and education with the Kildare Traveller Action group. She subsequently completed a Community Development & Leadership course prior to enrolling on her degree. She recently completed a Level 7 Certificate in Youth Studies at Maynooth University. Her ultimate aim is to set up a mobile equine health unit to help horse owners in disadvantaged and rural communities that struggle to access veterinary care.
Octavian Visan
Octavian worked for many years as a Hotel Receptionist prior to setting up his own tennis equipment business in 2014. The onset of ill health motivated him to further his education and change career direction. He has completed a Level 6 Business Administration course along with extra modules in Maths and Computerised Accounts. His work placement in Cora Systems allowed him to further develop his existing design and communication skills. With his degree, Octavian intends to start a career in Digital Marketing and open his own business in the future.
Patrick Lynch
Due to the onset of a degenerative back disease, Patrick had to cease being a self-employed carpenter. As he is also a musician, Patrick decided to pursue this alternative career path. He hopes to equip himself “with a qualification relevant to a career in music, arts and media” and to continue to develop his own creative ambitions as an artist.
Karol Lapot
University College Cork Applied PsychologyKarol Lapot
University College Cork
Applied PsychologyFor the last decade, Karol has held a variety of positions mostly in the arts. He was a full-time musician, manager of his own screen printing company and an arts centre. Recent experiences and research have motivated him to pursue a degree and career in the field of psychology. In 2018/19 he completed a Level 5 course in Psychology with the Cork College of Commerce. In time, through further education, Karol hopes “to be in a position to help and make a positive impact on people’s lives through offering services as a clinical Psychologist specialising in areas such as anxiety, depression, addiction and assertiveness training.”
Katarzyna Opozda
University of Limerick Paramedic StudiesKatarzyna Opozda
University of Limerick
Paramedic StudiesKatarzyna’s preparation and determination to become a paramedic is evident in the courses and qualifications she completed from 2015 to enrolling on her degree in 2018. She secured sponsorship for her course fees and volunteered with St Vincent de Paul, St Johns Ambulance and worked as a Health Care Assistant. She would like to “be part of the Pre Hospital Care first response” and gain further experience and education in this field to progress her career and pass her knowledge and experience onto others.
Katelyn Murphy
Belfast Metropolitan College Archaeology and HistoryKatelyn Murphy
Belfast Metropolitan College
Archaeology and HistoryKatelyn has previously worked in both hospitality and retail but has always had a passion for history. Following an Access Diploma in English and History at Belfast Metropolitan College she has undertaken a BA in Archaeology and History. Through this she hopes to write about these subjects in a way that makes the subjects more accessible to everyone, and engage with living history museums, so that more people can learn about the lives of those who came before us.
Kelly McMillen
Ulster University AccountingKelly McMillen
Ulster University
AccountingKelly returned to education in 2023 to complete an Access Diploma in Maths and Finance at Belfast Metropolitan College. With a gap of over twenty years in education and supporting two young children, she is now attending Ulster University to study an accounting degree, with the help and support provided by Uversity.
Kierstie O’Driscoll
Cork Institute of Technology BusinessKierstie O’Driscoll
Cork Institute of Technology
BusinessKierstie had worked for the past ten years in retail but felt that she could not progress her career as much as she would have liked without a degree. While she had doubts and fear about going to college, her biggest fear is “what if.” She didn’t want to look back later in life feeling that she had settled and thinking about what could have been if she had taken the leap and studied for a Degree. She is passionate about business and aspires to be a Sales & Marketing Manager with a global company. Following her very successful placement at Vodafone she has secured a role with the company.
Laura Bolger
University College Dublin English and Creative WritingLaura Bolger
University College Dublin
English and Creative WritingLaura returned to full time Education in 2022 by completing a one year Creative Writing course with Inchicore College of Further Education. Laura is now in her second year in UCD completing a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in English and Creative Writing. She hopes to continue her studies and enter the workforce as an educator, in order to give back all her know how and create an wonderful learning environment.
Laura Kinnear
University College Dublin Social Policy & SociologyLaura Kinnear
University College Dublin
Social Policy & SociologyLaura’s experience of ill health in 2011 fine-tuned her “focus and determination to pursue a career in the area of social care.” She subsequently secured a qualification and employment in Early Childhood Care and Education and in 2018 enrolled on University College Dublin’s Access to Arts & Social Sciences Programme. She is determined to channel her talent and interest in sociology, social work, social policy and justice into a meaningful line of work
Laura Mahon
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology AnimationLaura Mahon
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology
AnimationBecoming seriously ill in 2012 motivated Laura to re-evaluate her life, identify what is truly important and motivated her to pursue her lifelong dream to work in animation and illustration. Over two years she completed a Level 5 course in Art & Design in preparation for a Bachelor’s Degree. She also volunteered with the Carlow Arts Festival. Laura is committed to creating characters and worlds in which people can find their escape during her degree and future career in the field.
The Scholarships
Uversity advertises and awards Higher Education Scholarships to Adult Learners to enrol on a Bachelor’s Degree for the first time