Mum's passion for museums

Diane Sanders has taken the first step on the ladder of a career in Museums after completing her degree at Staffordshire University. Diane, 44, from Hednesford, achieved a 2:1 in her BA(Hons) English and History degree and has accepted a position at Tamworth Castle as a Museums Assistant – a far cry from her previous role as “mum, housewife and secretary”.

“I wanted to go into teaching English but History took over and I decided I wanted to go into the Museums Service,” said Diane, who was presented with Andrew Poynton Memorial Prize for outstanding achievement. The mum of two who studied for A-levels at Cannock College added:“I don’t think I’d have got the job if it hadn’t been for the placement with Staffordshire Museums and Archives Service.” Diane hopes eventually to study for a Masters in Museums Studies.

Taken from the publication 'Shine On'

Andrew's chance to study is a life changing experience

Andrew Chesworth changed his life when he escaped a "dead-end" job to pursue his dream of studying history.

Andrew, who was 39 at the time, turned his back on work at a distribution centre in Warrington and moved with his wife, Katy, from Northwich to the Potteries.

Andrew's decision to study at Staffordshire University paid off when he was awarded a First Class Honours degree in History with Sociology as well as receiving the Webberley's History Prize.

Andrew's final year History dissertation received a first-class mark for his study of 'Indigenous Resistance to Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, 1933-1945'.

"It was a case of now or never," he said. "I was in a dead-end job and I thought I wanted to better myself. I didn't have any prospects at the time."

"I did well at school but when I left it didn't feel like the right time for a formal education. The History department has been fantastic. The lecturers have been wonderful and really go that extra mile to help."

Andrew now plans to continue his interest in modern history with an MA in Twentieth Century History at the University of Sheffield. He then hopes to start work as a teacher.

As a mature student Andrew believes that his degree at Staffordshire University gave him more confidence to do anything he wants, and showed him how persistence and hard work can lead to a good degree result.

Andrew's coursework also included a History placement in his second year at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley.

He undertook oral history interviewing, and some of the resulting testimony featured in a museum exhibition about the history of Trentham Gardens.

Over the summer Andrew will be working locally for the Staffordshire Arts and Museum Service on an oral history project 'Voices from the Edge', covering different parts of the county of Staffordshire, with Andrew helping to document the villages of Audley, Alstonefield and Tutbury.