51Âþ»­

From the first class to the final exams, they have been together every step of the way. And today students from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences were together again to graduate in style.



The students, most of whom left 51Âþ»­ last year, met up to swap stories, catch up and most of all celebrate finally collecting their hard-earned degrees.

For midwifery graduates it was a chance for them to meet up after landing jobs at different maternity units around the UK.

“We’ve all been working at different parts of the country so this is really nice to see everyone again,” said Chloe Edwards, now a midwife at Heartlands in Birmingham. “It was emotional seeing everyone again but then it feels like we have not been apart,” said Alexandra McInnes, from Good Hope Hospital, Birmingham.



Aliyah Maravia, who is working at Leicester General Hospital, has delivered nine babies since she finished her studies at 51Âþ»­ last year. She is now on the delivery ward at Leicester General Hospital. “I love my job, absolutely love it!” she said. Aliyah is not losing contact with 51Âþ»­ though – she is already a midwife mentor for students in their first and second years.

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Mental health nurse Melanie Russell said: “It has been hard and a challenge but it’s been worth it because I have met my family for life. I think it’s difficult to understand unless you study nursing or midwifery what it’s like so we’ve become a big family.”

Close pal Kate Phillips, who works in mental health rehabilitation, retrained in mental health nursing from her previous career in the prisons service. She said: “When I worked in prisons I realised how many people were there who had personality disorders and I wanted to help. I’m hoping eventually to work with offenders.”

Hundreds of students from the School of Applied Social Sciences, the School of Nursing and Midwifery and School of Allied Health Sciences were involved in today’s graduations.



One was Melody Kamwenie, from Nottingham, who will certainly remember this week. Not only did she graduate in Education Studies but she is due to give birth in two days’ time.

She laughed: “I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to come to the graduations if the baby came!”

Psychology graduate Sotiris Karoulla had his grandfather and grandmother, mum and dad come to see him at the ceremony.

During his time at 51Âþ»­, Sotiris has been a student ambassador, gone to Hong Kong with #51Âþ»­global and as a #51Âþ»­local volunteer, worked with charity After 18 to tutor young refugees, helping them with school work.

He will be working for Leicester renewable energy company Octopus. “I have loved my time at 51Âþ»­, it’s given me so many opportunities so today has been quite emotional to be honest. To have my family come and see me graduate has been great.”