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.
Elaine Sherlock
Trinity College DublinElaine Sherlock
Trinity College Dublin
Elaine has worked in the health and fitness industry for over 15 years. In that time, she has seen an increase in clients seeking help to support them in their everyday activities and improve their physical and mental health. Occupational therapy is a career that really interested her because of the holistic, whole person approach. Elaine returned to education full time in 2019 completing a QQI level 5 course, then enrolled in the Trinity Access Programme. Elaine feels her confidence increased on completion of the courses and gave her the motivation and belief that she could successfully complete a degree at Trinity College Dublin. Elaine describes returning to education after 15 years as a daunting but exciting experience and with the ongoing support received as a mature student, she looks forward to this new chapter in her life.
Emily Kelly
St. Angela's College General NursingEmily Kelly
St. Angela's College
General NursingNursing has always been Emily’s passion but she never got the opportunity before now. Her life, work and educational experience to date has amply prepared her for this degree. Emily established and ran a childminding service for three years and worked as a Special Needs Assistant for ten years. Most recently she completed St Angela College’s Access course and previously completed a Level 6 Montessori and Special Needs course.
Emma Dowd
PsychologyEmma Dowd
Emma returned to University in 2023 to study psychology after completing a PLC in social studies the previous year. Emma’s life experiences motivated her to pursue a career in psychology and hopes to complete a masters in Clinical Neuroscience.
Emma Houston
English and LinguisticsEmma Houston
Emma had climbed a career ladder working in an Opticians. but never quite reached the right cloud. In 2021 she decided to study and Access Diploma in humanities, and is now doing a degree in English and Linguistics, which combines together her interests in language and science. She hopes to go on to work in Linguistic analysis and help to find solutions and improve communication for those with difficulties.
Erin Morrow
After working through a career in Hospitality for eight years, Erin decided to return to education in 2021 to complete an Access Humanities Diploma in Belfast Metropolitan College in order pursue a passion for Teaching reignited by the start of her daughter’s school journey. Since starting St Mary’s, she has put 100% into her dream and can’t wait to become “the catalyst of academic inspiration for my pupils and a strong role model for my daughter.”
Francis Kavanagh
University College Dublin Social Policy & SociologyFrancis Kavanagh
University College Dublin
Social Policy & SociologyBorn in Ireland, Francis lived in England for twenty-four years. During that time he was a caretaker for a local council and a prison officer. He was awarded a Diploma in Social Policy and Criminology from The Open University in 2010. Since his return to Ireland in 2004, Francis was a self-employed painter and decorator but his heart was not in it. He returned to full-time education in 2019 by enrolling on Technological University Dublin’s Foundation Undergraduate Access to Higher Education Programme to reskill and follow his heart. His hope is to work with young adolescents and adults with mental health and addiction issues, possibly with the justice system.
Gary Ervine
Ulster University Computing ScienceGary Ervine
Ulster University
Computing ScienceGary has worked in different sectors including healthcare, construction and hospitality before deciding to change his hobby with computers into a career. He is excited by the prospect of understanding how technology is developed and how this will impact our lives. While completing a Foundation Degree in Computing at Northern Regional College, Gary regularly attended ‘meetups’ organised by local software companies and secured a three month placement in a local IT solutions firm.
Gemma McKeown
Queen’s University Belfast PsychologyGemma McKeown
Queen’s University Belfast
PsychologyGemma has previously trained and worked as a quality assurance officer and lab technician. Personal experiences have led to her desire “to pursue a career as in Educational Psychology.” Gemma’s first step on that journey was to return to education to study the Access Course in Social Sciences in the Northern Regional College. Gemma intends to continue her volunteer work with a local addiction charity while enrolled on her degree.
The Scholarships
Uversity advertises and awards Higher Education Scholarships to Adult Learners to enrol on a Bachelor’s Degree for the first time