From education to employment

From food bank to first: The inspirational student smashing stereotypes

Growing up in rural Gloucestershire, Tiegan Bingham-Roberts had the odds stacked against her. As a pupil at a secondary school in special measures, she had to care for siblings amid a challenging family life and work part-time to afford the bus each day.

But she always saw university as her way to a new life, and worked non-stop to fulfil her dream of studying at the University of Bristol.

ā€œSchool life was chaotic and unproductive,ā€ Tiegan explained. ā€œPeople would throw chairs across classrooms and there were cigarettes butts on the playing fields. People just didnā€™t follow the rules -although the school has got better over time.ā€

No-one in Tieganā€™s family had been to university, and her school had little time to help her achieve her dream.

ā€œā€™Universityā€™ just wasnā€™t part of the school vocabulary,ā€ she said. ā€œMost teachersā€™ attention was wrapped up dealing with behavioral problems.ā€

Despite this, Tiegan did not stop striving.

ā€œThere were so many times I thought of giving up and just not bothering,ā€ the 23-year-old said.

ā€œWith everything going on I really struggled with my mental health as a teenager, but I always imagined my life as it is now: getting into Bristol Uni, studying a subject I love, getting a first.

ā€œWhen I was younger I always just focused on the future. I said ā€˜Iā€™ll put food on the table and will be able to look after myselfā€™. I always had faith it would happen.

ā€œAs a child it was about thinking about the future, waiting for the years to go by.

ā€œNow Iā€™m in a position where I can enjoy my life and job, I try to live in the present, I want to enjoy every moment.ā€

Tiegan was offered a place to study English under the University of Bristolā€™s contextual offer scheme, which accepts lower entry grades from pupils who come from backgrounds less likely to go to university. But in the end Tieganā€™s straight As meant she did not need this.

Once at University, Tiegan threw herself into extra-curricular activities, joining societies and voluntary organisations by the handful. Many of these groups had a focus on helping others, particularly those who came from similar backgrounds to herself.

ā€œWhen I first got to Uni, Iā€™d been looking forward to it for so long, it meant so much to me. My whole life Iā€™d been waiting to move to a city and meet like-minded people ā€“ so I just wanted to get involved with everything,ā€ she said.

Now completing a prestigious Civil Service internship, Tiegan hopes to become a senior leader in the public sector. Here, she can continue to help people ā€“ particularly those from less fortunate backgrounds ā€“ continuing her work at university on a national scale.

Meanwhile, she has been shortlisted for the House of Lords Student Social Mobility Awards, which recognises studentsā€™ outstanding contribution to improving social mobility.

Sarah Purdy, the University of Bristolā€™s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience, said: ā€œTieganā€™s inspirational journey is all the more humbling and impressive in that she now wants to use her skills, intelligence and tireless drive to help others.

ā€œShe is a credit to the University and we wish her every success in the future.ā€


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