GOING to university is the first chance most young adults have to get away from the confines of their parents and family – but not for Lauren and Lisa MacKenzie.
Not only did they start university life together, their mum joined them too.
Lauren, 22, even went one step further and chose the same course as her mother Angela, and the two ended up in the same mental health nursing class at Edinburgh Napier University.
Single-mother Angela, 45, yesterday graduated alongside Lauren and Lisa, 21, who studied adult general nursing at Napier.
Angela said: "I felt sorry for Lauren because university years are meant to be the best years and she had her mother in her class."
The two travelled into university together from their home in Bonnyrigg, which they also share with Angela's son, Robbie, 17. They went their separate ways when they arrived though, and most classmates were not aware that they were related.
Angela said: "We didn't make a big thing about it. A few people knew we were mother and daughter, but not many.
"A couple of months down the line, Lauren was asked by a tutor who her inspiration was, and she said her mum.
"The tutor told her that was nice and she was sure her mum would love to hear that, to which Lauren replied that her mum was actually just sitting over there."
Living together and studying together for four years did not come without its stresses, especially as Angela had to continue with her job as nursing assistant at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary to keep the family afloat. She said: "It was more difficult for me as I'm on my own with two girls and a son. I had to work every weekend, which meant when I was on placement, I was working seven days a week for 12 weeks at a time."
Angela began her career in the medical profession 15 years ago when she got a job at the ERI as a nursing assistant. She decided she wanted to take her career to the next level by embarking on the BN degree in mental health nursing.
The experience of studying together hasn't put them off each other, as their latest move proves – both Angela and Lauren have now secured jobs at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Morningside.(source) |
