Having been ‘a mum at home’ to her five children for many years, Christine Danson decided to go back to school. "My office skills were outdated. Technology had moved at such a rate that I knew I would have to get some sort of formal training in order to be employable."
She had heard about the course "New Opportunities For Women"(NOW) and in 2001 enrolled.
"That was the easy part; the hard part was gathering all may courage to show up on the first day."
Once she started she was pleasantly surprised and somewhat relieved.
"The NOW course was nothing like I expected. There was no regimented learning in a stuffy classroom. Instead I found friendships with women who were doing the same course for the same reasons as myself."
Having completed subjects such as English and Effective Communication, she was keen to enrol in the next course, Women Into Technology (WIT). Through this she says she stepped, "right out of my comfort zone".
Subjects included Chemistry, Biology and Computing.
"I even did a PowerPoint presentation on Women in Science which lead me to go to the Path Centre at QE2 Hospital to interview a forensic scientist."
She then wrote an article published in the Police Service magazine. From that article she was asked to do more, which in turn lead her to be recommended by lecturers for work experience in the Marketing Division of Midland College.
This gave her confidence to successfully apply for a position at Swan Training and Consultancy. Her experience and enthusiasm for that position lead to her being selected to coordinate the College’s Annual Awards Ceremony and Presentation 2003. Her previous lecturers were amazed at the confidence she displayed in hosting such a memorable event.
Christine is currently acting as a Business Unit Coordinator for Business, Computing and Finance, managing a staff of four. She hopes to continue furthering her studies at some time in the future.
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