Jared Darcy, 21 from Wolverhampton, had planned to study medicine but when he didn’t get the grades he expected, he decided to take a different path.
Jared said: “If you were to talk to me four years ago and said you're going to come to this university, you're going to be one of the top graduates. I think I would have laughed at you.
“When I received my A-level results, I originally was destined for higher grades. To see the letters that came up. It was extremely crushing.
“It’s one of those things, when you have a decision to make. Do you just sort of sit there and let the grief take you over or do you do something about it? And I chose to do the latter.”
Jared called Staffordshire University's Clearing hotline and was offered a place to study BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science at Staffordshire University and says he has not looked back since.
During his degree, Jared excelled inside and outside of the classroom. Alongside course mates and lecturers, he helped to organise the Great Green Gathering, an annual event dedicated to celebrating all things sustainable. As part of this, he co-presented a special ‘Staffs Does Springwatch’ show filmed in the TV Studios on campus.
Jared also had the opportunity to undertake a research placement within the labs at Staffordshire University which led to presenting his findings at the Microbiology Society’s annual conference in Belfast.
“I've made a change for the better. I feel so, so much more empowered than I was four years ago and I feel like I've got this university to thank because I've really come into my own and it just feels so great to be so comfortable in my own skin these days.”
He added: “It's been an absolutely crazy experience. Four years have gone like that, but I wouldn't change it for the world.”
Jared has graduated with a first-class degree and has secured a Masters degree place at the University of Birmingham with a scholarship.
“I'm thinking perhaps of sticking with research and then perhaps taking my knowledge into the hospitals to see if I can make a big difference there. But it's nothing concrete just yet. I do really think the world is my oyster and I have Staffs University to thank for that.”
To anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation to Jared on results day, he has this advice: “It's never the be all and end all. I understand that we’re all put under quite a lot of pressure in this country to perform.
“I just beg that people don't work themselves up over it because it's just not worth it. You will get there in the end, even if it is just taking some detours.”
Discover more about studying at Staffordshire University at an Open Day – book your place.
Find out if you are eligible for an offer through Clearing by using our Offer Generator, have a ‘live chat’ with current students and experts at http://www.staffs.ac.uk/clearing/ or call our Clearing hotline on 0800 590 830.