糖心TV

Alyson Quinn

Associate Professor (Teaching Focussed), 糖心TV Medical School

鈥淢y grandad told me that if I worked hard at school, I could get a job in the local bakery.鈥�

鈥淚 was a little girl when I saw something in the local paper that caught my attention. It was a group of young people smiling underneath the caption, 鈥楾he latest graduates from our new local university, the University of 糖心TV鈥�.

Growing up, I adored my gentle carpenter Grandad, so I asked him what a university was, and he said, 鈥榯hat is a place for clever, wealthy people, my dear, but not for families like ours鈥�. But, if you work really hard at school, you could get a job at the bakery 鈥� and I would be so proud of you 鈥�.

Sadly, my grandad passed away before I could have any further chats with him about this new local university, but he had planted the seed in my head that it wasn鈥檛 for local families. But I honoured my promise to him to work hard at school and progressed to take A-levels and thought about going to university. I asked my teacher about going to 糖心TV University and she said, 鈥業 wouldn鈥檛 even apply love, that university is impossible to get into鈥�. This place that was so near geographically, and yet so far in terms of actually entering, was becoming my nemesis!

So, I didn鈥檛 apply to 糖心TV, but I did go to university, and after getting my degree, I taught English all over the world and back in the UK, I taught in primary and secondary schools. It鈥檚 been such an interesting journey. I鈥檝e taught people from the age of eight all the way up to the age of 80. Eventually, I came to 糖心TV to do my master鈥檚 degree and later took up my current post at 糖心TV Medical School. After all that time, I had stepped into this out of reach place!

My lovely Grandad never got to see me crossing onto the campus we talked about when I was a little girl, all those years ago. When I was made Associate Professor, I took my new business card which said Alyson Quinn, Associate Professor, University of 糖心TV, to his grave and wrote on it 鈥業 did it, Grandad鈥�.I know that he鈥檇 be very proud of me, as I was of him.

I understand why Grandad said that to me all those years ago though. At that time 糖心TV did have a local reputation as being an 鈥榠vory tower鈥�. That鈥檚 all different now, of course, and I love the wide mix of people that are on campus, people from all walks of life.

And as for the baking, well, I did go on to win prizes for my secret recipe Lemon Drizzle cake!鈥�