Ruth Empson

Ruth, who has switched from a long career as a scientist to move into nursing, was awarded with a £1,000 scholarship for outstanding academic achievement.  

“I’m gobsmacked,” said Ruth, who lives near Whitchurch, and is in the second year of a Mental Health Nursing degree. She plans to put some of the money towards books and a top of the range manual blood pressure monitor. 

Mature student Ruth’s journey to Nursing has been unexpected. She said: “I’m a professional woman who has been a scientist all her life, working at a high level at times, who is now embarking on a second career in mental health nursing, something I never thought I could do, but always felt as if I might want to try! It took a number of life events and Covid to shift me from my life in New Zealand to return to the UK to family, and to start something new!” 

Part of Ruth’s journey to her studies at Worcester involved spending two years working and volunteering at a homeless day centre called The Ark in Shrewsbury. “It was this that gave me the confidence to embark on a nursing degree and to start learning how to care for people with severe and enduring mental illness and addictions,” she said. 

As she wanted to study Mental Health Nursing, Ruth’s options were limited to a handful of universities including Worcester. She said: “After my interview and visiting Worcester there was no doubt that it was where I wanted to study even though it is furthest from home. The University were efficient and positive from start to end point and the initial enquiries team were fabulous compared with other unis.”