Jedburgh woman learns to win fight against lack of confidence

Mandy Murray, 55, pictured, was among 664 students who had their degrees conferred at the Open University (OU) degree ceremony at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall last Saturday.

Mandy, a mother of two, received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Humanities with Literature.

Having been a project manager at Tesco, she had to give up her job due to health problems. A kidney transplant and long period of hospitalisation took its toll on her and her family, and she found herself isolated at home until she started studying with the OU. She graduated with a first-class degree and has already signed up for another course.

Mandy explained: “I pretty much lost the confidence to even leave the house, becoming ‘institutionalised’ owing to my lengthy stay in hospital.

“I used the OU website and the brilliant OU support team online to build a plan of courses to achieve a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree. My kitchen became my university. We have a kind of breakfast area and I commandeered the table and had all my books out.

“When I got my results, I did shed a tear. I stand a little taller now, my confidence is still growing. My kids and husband are so proud.”

She added: “I was dragged by the hair through my courses, with support by some amazing tutors. They showed a confidence in me I didn’t have in myself.”