PGCE was ‘best decision I’ve made’ says lecturer Keri

Keri Lane says returning to education in her 30s to study a PGCE was the best decision she’s ever made.

Three years on from her teaching course at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor in Dolgellau, Keri is a full-time lecturer in Health & Social Care and is “living the dream”.

Keri, who teaches at the Dolgellau and Pwllheli campuses, says the best part of her job is seeing the positive influence she is able to have on young learners’ lives.

“Like many, I felt quite nervous about returning to education in my 30s,” said Keri, from Gellilydan near Blaenau Ffestiniog. “However, opting for the PGCE course at Dolgellau has proven to be the best decision I’ve made for myself.

“It has been three years since I graduated from the course, and my career has thrived since. I am now living my dream as a full-time lecturer in the Health and Social / Childcare department. Seeing the positive impact I am able to make on my students’ lives through teaching is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling.”

“Recently, I was honoured to be given joint responsibility of curriculum coordinator within the Health and Social/Childcare department, a significant achievement that the course has greatly supported.”

Keri praised her teachers at Dolgellau, saying she grew in confidence, excelled academically and made new friends as a result of the course.

“The support from all the staff in the PGCE department is outstanding,” she said. “They were always willing to go the extra mile, striving to provide the best support and experiences. Thanks to their dedication, my academic abilities improved significantly, as did my confidence. Building new friendships and enjoying my time there was an added bonus.”

Asked for her advice to others, Keri added:

“If you have a passion for the education sector and want to make a positive impact on the lives of young people, I would definitely recommend pursuing the PGCE course as it is truly worthwhile. I enjoyed every second of my time there and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

Jaimee Wellings, from Talybont near Barmouth, has recently graduated from the PCGE programme at Dolgellau.

During the second year of her course she worked part-time as a lecturer in hairdressing at the college, and also works at Elegance Hair and Beauty in Talybont.

Jaimee said:

“I’d been hairdressing for 14 years, and I wanted a change in direction but doing something still in the same field.

“I’ve got a friend who works at the college and she pushed me to do the PGCE. It was really good – more so the second year when I knew more about what I was doing. I just found it really interesting, and I realised that I loved teaching.

“I like the variety of it – no two days are the same. I also like working with the 16-plus age group and building a rapport with the students.”

As for her plans for the future, Jaimee said:

“I’d like a full-time teaching job to come up in hairdressing, but I’ve got a really flexible job at the salon so I’m keeping my options open.”