Community Links Programme - creating opportunity for all

Being part of the Access programme has really helped my first year in college go very smoothly. The financial support is a huge help to me, it means I do not have to work; so more time goes into my course work and also that I don’t have to keep asking my Mum for money. However the services go beyond just financial assistance, the project officers help make everything go smoothly too, it is really nice to know that the support is there if you need it or not. Also the orientation week in September was great, you got to meet people from throughout the college, which is great because all the...

The first day in college is a happy memory permanently embedded in my mind. It is a day I will never forget. I am the first person in my family to go to college. A dream comes true, all the sleepless nights and hard work in school have at last paid off. College, a new and fresh part of my life was about to start. I was so excited. I felt that I have accomplished something. New people, new friends, lectures and a totally new environment awaited me. The first semester flew by so fast and this made me realise that I was responsible, I was an adult. No one would question you if you...

‘I remember the day well, driving to the school to pick up my leaving certificate results. That was four years ago now, and here I am in my first year of college studying in the course I have always wanted to. So what happened in those four years.....? When I left school, unlike so many of my peers, I had no idea what I wanted to do afterwards. That said, I applied to HEAR and the CAO and picked, at random, a few courses which I thought looked interesting. At the time I had little, if no motivation to attend third level education. It was something my Mam really wanted me to do. To my...

‘When I applied for my course here in DIT I was really excited, it was all I wanted to do. However, Dublin was over 300km away from my home town and the thought of going to a new county and city like Dublin on my own was a frightening thought. Luckily enough my mother found out about the HEAR programme. She gathered all the necessary information and sent it off for me. I didn’t think much more about going to Dublin I just concentrated on getting the points in the leaving cert. After the leaving cert was over I began to think about Dublin again. I really wanted to get accepted into my...

‘I write this piece as my first college year comes to an end, and what a year it has been!! We all know that anxious feeling we get when it comes to that time in your life when we have to move on to a new stage. The first day of primary school, the first day of secondary school, and even starting your first job!! Before you know it, along comes the first day of college - daunting!! The thoughts of a whole new change to my life scared me! Fortunately enough for myself, I qualified for the Higher Education Access Route - not so daunting anymore!! Being on this programme has really helped...