Former Science student Courtney Gordon says Forth Valley College never gave up on her when she had just about given up on herself – so now she is delighted to help inspire primary school pupils to enjoy STEM subjects.
Courtney Gordon (25) from Falkirk worked her way up through an Access to Applied Science Level 5 and 6 course, and then onto the HNC and graduated this year (2022) with a HND Chemical Process Technology qualification.
Things have taken off for her as she has just started a BSc in Chemistry at the University of the West of Scotland, has high hopes of becoming a teacher or lecturer and has just helped to start a STEM after-school club at Airth Primary School through their Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) – which is attended by her two young children Taylor (9) and Isla (5).
But she will never forget the support she received from the College’s Student Support Team, and how a phone call of encouragement from her FVC lecturer, when she was at her lowest ebb while suffering from a Functional Neurolgical Disorder, changed her life.
“That phone call literally did save my life.” Said Courtney, “I had been losing the ability to walk and was really, really, down, when one of my lecturers Colin McMorrin called see how I was and help me plan a route back to learning at the College. He did not give up on me, even when I think I had just about given up on myself, and that meant so much to me.
“He finished the call by saying that I just had to put the effort into getting better and the support would be there to help me back into my studies, when I was feeling well enough. But they didn’t just do that for me, they make sure every student is well looked after and supported and that’s why I am so determined to help inspire young children to learn more about STEM subjects, and to recommend the College to as many people as I can.
“Forth Valley College’s Science Department was life changing for me and I want to try to inspire kids to change their lives by learning about Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM) subjects and give them a passion for them.
“Airth Primary School and its PTA have been very supportive to help start the STEM After-School Club. It was very much a joint effort between me and another women called Dr Julie Badcock. She’s a mathematician and the STEM club was originally her idea, I then got involved with it and contacted people in order to get resources, and I will be the ‘teacher’ along with her. I love seeing how happy they are to learn about these subjects through interactive experiments and workshops. Hopefully they might well progress onto Forth Valley College to study STEM subjects there in the future.”
Scott Johnstone, Principal Teacher at Airth Primary School, said: “It is lovely hearing this story about a member of our school community and their experiences of further education. We always welcome the range of skills and expertise that our parents and carers bring and it is great that they are getting a chance to share this with our pupils. The children in P5-P7 are very excited about their upcoming after school STEM club.”
Courtney is delighted to keep in touch with her former lecturers and recently – along with her two children - helped out at the Stirling Science Festival at the Albert Halls, where the College ran workshops on ‘Make your own Rocket’ and ‘Crime Detectives using Fingerprints and Hair Analysis'.
Fiona Jackson, Curriculum Manager in FVC’s Department of STEM and Construction, said: “I remember having progress meetings with Courtney back in 2015. As childcare wasn’t always available, she would sometimes bring in her son, who was just a toddler. Courtney was working so hard to juggle college and childcare, which wasn’t easy for her.
“When Courtney got in touch in September to say she was trying to organise STEM input for her after school club, it was so good to hear from her. I was able to share with her the STEM box programme, and the STEM outreach team details, to support her in the programme development for the club.
“I asked her if she would like to help us during the Stirling Science Festival. When Courtney came along with her son, who ended up helping us run the activities, it was so good to see him again, and see his interest in science. It really highlighted for me how important Forth Valley College is as a community college.”
Courtney, continued: “Originally I wanted my Highers to go on to university, Forth Valley College at the time we’re the only place that offered day time Higher courses - although they stopped doing the actual higher exam at the time, they were supportive towards me getting my Higher in Biology and Chemistry - however after my Access course I wanted to stay at Forth Valley College.
“All the new equipment at the new college campus is amazing, but I always loved what was referred to as the plant lab. It’s hard to describe what it was, but essentially it was a massive lab that had equipment donated from different places like Ineos.
“The lecturers are amazing. I wouldn’t have got anywhere without the support from them throughout. They always went above and beyond to make sure I was okay both inside and outside College. Some lecturers would spend hours discussing things like university and places in the world you could go with the qualification path we’d chosen, and much more as well. They were really inspirational. And never gave up on me even when I’d given up on myself!
“Studying at the College gave me the grades to go into third year of university and allowed me to finish my degree in two years. Again, the lecturers and curriculum managers were so helpful in helping me choose what I wanted to do, one of my lecturers spent their lunch going through all my options with me and I don’t think I could have chosen confidently without their help.
“The College is such a good environment for learning. The support you receive is amazing, and I feel like, especially now with the very challenging last few years, support is very much needed.
“The College is ideal for the kids who have just left school and have no clue what the big bad world is all about. It is also ideal for others who’ve maybe worked since they’ve left school and want to return to education, or single mums like myself especially… if they’ve gone through some not so nice things, or even for people who have just never really found their ‘calling’ - Forth Valley College could well be the best place for them. The support is there and easily accessible to get you where you need to be, the people I’ve been involved with genuinely care about their students.
“I would definitely recommend the College. I actually recommend it to everyone I know. And my son has already promised me he will go there when he grows up.
“I honestly loved everything about it. I loved the classes, labs and the people! I’ll always miss and remember my time at Forth Valley College. I actually cried when I left.”