I came to the University as a mature student. I didn’t have an art qualifications but I was passionate about art and had found myself working in dead end jobs that were frustrating. I knew the time for change was now or never. I enrolled on a Foundation Studies in Art and Design course. I remember my interview because I was told I would need to go to college to get an A-level and I said I didn’t have time for that! I offered to draw something there and then for them to assess. They told me to wait outside and then seconds later was told I’d got a place. I was elated. I was local (grew up in Tipton) and Wolverhampton seemed a likely choice as I could access it from home during my foundation year. I moved into a shared house in Wolves to do my degree, and I have lived in Wolverhampton ever since. The staff on the foundation course were really cool – hippie-ish! The degree course was very conceptual and the lecturers encouraged experimentation and looking for subversive, cultural references. It got students thinking in new and different ways which was great. In those days computers weren’t used so widely in design and the internet was in its infancy. This forced us to go out into the ‘real world’ and also we lived in the library to do research.

The experience of doing a degree is multi layered and in depth – you need qualities such as tenacity, resilience and perseverance. These are also crucial qualities to be able to run a business. What is interesting is that my final University project involved me writing a book ‘Joseph the Useful Cardboard Box’ which I self published with an Arts Council grant and managed to get on sale a Waterstones bookstores. This led to me doing workshops in primary education and starting a company called ‘Real Arts Workshops’. Now, over 20 years on, this is my main business again although most of the work are creative workshops in out of school settings: in community centres and day centres and special projects for young people, adults, people with disabilities.

I run two creative businesses: a graphic design company and an arts workshop provider - so it is a hectic and full life. I think doing a degree means you develop an eye for detail and the desire to do things thoroughly so a lot of my time is spent doing research and planning for projects. Because of this I work long hours but I am much happier being self-employed and being responsible for constantly making decisions, than working for an employer.

I was pleased to be an artist on the Wolves In Wolves sculpture trail project in 2017 and to have my design ‘Support Life’ permanently on display in the University grounds.

Work hard and don’t take the gift of education for granted. Listen to your tutors but think for yourself – you might never have this freedom again to experiment with ideas and ‘push the envelope’ – life outside university rarely offers the same freedoms. But also have fun – I look back at my house sharing days as some of the most fun in my life.