Kat Leslie
Finding my Balance: How Support at Uni Helps Me Thrive as a Student and Mum of Three
In this blog I’m going to write about my experience at the University as a mature student and Mum of three from a working-class background - what I’ve struggled with and the support that’s available.
I came to the UofG as an adult learner from the widening participation programme, with a 20+ year gap in my education. It was a daunting and uncomfortable prospect. I felt like a complete fish out of water - at university I have since learned this is called, ‘imposter syndrome’. It felt like there were a lot of barriers in my way. I found it difficult to adjust to the academic style of writing for essays and getting my grammar, punctuation and sentence structure up to scratch.
It’s been hard trying to balance lectures, seminars and studying with my responsibilities in a single parent household. It often feels like you have done a full day’s work by 9am. An average morning consists of my youngest son running laps around our home, while persistently asking for rice cakes -meanwhile his big brother procrastinates, and can be found hiding in the bathroom, with his iPad, rather than showering, or brushing his teeth. The navigation of this alone requires meticulous time management, a high level of patience and perseverance. These skills have served me well in my first year of studying. My responsibilities as a parent have helped me create study plans and get involved in fieldwork groups.
The years have flown by raising a family and preparing them for each milestone in our education systems: nurseries, schools, and more recently college (for my eldest). As a parent I have supported and reassured them through the emotional turmoil that these changes may sometimes bring. This somewhat prepared me emotionally for my own return to education, I held a realistic approach, that it could take time to settle in and settle down.
Along with my own personal attributes and lived experience I have had a lot of support from places within our campus. This undoubtedly made the path smoother especially for a student spinning as many plates as I am.
Attending Freshers’ Week was a game-changer. Going to the welcome presentations introduced me to student societies and services I didn’t even know existed. That first week set the tone: I realised I didn’t have to go through uni life alone. I made it a goal to connect—with staff, classmates, and support networks—and that decision has made all the difference. If you’ve just arrived and you’re wondering how you’re going to manage it all, here are some things that helped me in my first year.
- Student Services & Societies →University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Mature Students Association
- Library Level 5→ This space became a lifesaver, especially during exam season. I could bring my youngest son, keep him busy, and still study. In a way, he became my built-in Pomodoro timer—reminding me to take breaks! Pomodoro® Technique - Time Management Method
University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Student Learning Development
Parent & Carer Policies→ University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - People & Organisational Development - All staff - Health & Wellbeing - Work Life Balance - Leave Policies - Parental Leave Policies Homepage
These gave me flexibility when family responsibilities clashed with deadlines. Having those policies in place meant more transparency with my course coordinators, which eased the pressure around exam time.
Mature students are in the minority at our university -about 5% of us roughly. I don’t highlight this to separate us from our class peers here - we all bring individual value to our community. It is merely to share some experience, from my perspective, that successfully accommodated my additional needs as a mature student that I previously thought could be a barrier to higher education.
Previous mature students helped inspire me in pursuit of my own academic goals. After graduating with honours, my friends John’s education journey allowed him to “meet his full potential”; break generational cycles of poverty, and enrich not only his own life but the lives of many others through his contributions in the community work he became involved in.
This inspired me, quite simply-because I knew his life story: the housing scheme he was born into, and the way of life that followed… (there was definitely no ‘silver spoon’.) Despite a few decades of challenges, education was a contributing factor that not only gave him a second chance, but also facilitated a life truly lived to the fullest .
I am grateful to my friends for sharing their experiences and achievements with me. One of the benefits of having friends that had been to university before me meant that I had witnessed firsthand the transformative powers higher education installs in an individual. It was through seeing this transformation, coupled with a painful redundancy that inspired me to take my own leap of faith and chase one of my own. It is a personal belief that lived experience and academia are powerful forces for change.
Looking back, my first year wasn’t just about learning my subject—it was about finding confidence, building connections, and realising that higher education really does have the power to transform lives.
My studies have become the driving force that lifts my spirit. I’ve become full of wonder, creativity and self-determination. As Albert Einstein said, ‘I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. It is this curiosity that fuels me daily’. If you’re just starting out: lean on the support that’s here for you, embrace the juggling act, and don’t be afraid to reach out. You might be surprised at just how much you’re capable of. Whether you’re looking to become a ‘world changer’ or just taking the opportunity to change the world for yourself then I totally believe you can do it at the University of Glasgow.
