Suzanne Rosenshine

What motivated you to embark on your chosen degree path?

I worked as a secretary and then a paralegal for many years and saw others’ careers progressing while mine remained static. I wondered if perhaps I could do the job of solicitor just as well as others who had come and gone before me. So I decided it was crunch time and gave it a go! Its the best move I’ve ever made. I wish had had the confidence to do it years before. I studied on a part time basis at Glasgow Caledonian University. It was difficult and there were times where I felt so overwhelmed I was tempted to give up but that feeling of validation and elation on receiving my Bachelor of Laws Degree Certificate was one of the best feelings I have ever had.

How did you come to learn about the Trust? What impact of the funding did the funding from the Trust have?

I learned of the Trust through word of mouth.  I was speaking with someone who had returned to studies later in life and we were discussing the difficulty of self-funding. As a mature student (I was 27) studying on a part time basis I was not entitled to any assistance with tuition fees and had to self-fund. I was on a low income and unfortunately mortgage and the usual home life financial commitments plus tuition fees do not compute favourably! This was also around 2007/2008 as the credit crunch was starting to bite and we were entering into a bleak period of recession where salary increases were non-existent. After gaining the confidence to undertake the Decree, funding was the only barrier in my way. If it wasn’t for the assistance of the Trust I would never have been able to transcend that barrier.

What have you gone on to do since your graduation?

I have successfully secured a traineeship. I am due to qualify as a solicitor in May this year and I have just been offered a job as a newly qualified solicitor specialising in the Catastrophic Personal Injury and Occupational Health Practice Group at DWF LLP. I’ve come a long way, a journey I could not have undertaken without the support of the Trust.

Suzanne studied for a part-time LLB at Glasgow Caledonian University, graduating in 2013.