Tatenda and Douglas Makurumure
Slough couple graduate together Changing careers is never easy, and doing so when you have three teenage children is harder still. But that was the goal that Tatenda and Douglas Makurumure from Slough set themselves, before graduating from Bucks New University. After 15 years teaching primary school children at Seki 6 Primary School in Zimbabwe, Tatenda realised that nursing was her true calling and, at the age of 40, she applied to Bucks to enrol on a Diploma in Mental Health Nursing. “After migrating from Zimbabwe, I worked as a mental health support worker. I wanted to study mental illness and understand what made people unwell and how they were looked after,” says Tatenda. “Switching career wasn’t an easy decision, in fact it was one of the hardest I ever made.” Her husband, Douglas, made a similar decision at the same time, and gave up his career as an accounting officer. He completed his BSc (Hons) in Nursing at Bucks, and is now working at Ealing Hospital. With three teenagers at home it was a challenging time for the family, and with both parents studying it was also difficult financially, but it was more than worth it and the hard work is paying off. Tatenda graduated with a Diploma and started work at Prospect Park Hospital in Reading as a staff nurse, and in less than a year found herself working in the community as a community psychiatric nurse (CPN). She said: “My training at Bucks made me a well-rounded, balanced mental health nurse. The training I had and the lecturers and placement advisers I met were a real inspiration. It was a great achievement for me and now I can concentrate on a new career.” Their eldest son, Kuda James, was accepted by Kingston University to study Sports Science and Business Management - the desire to study is clearly a family affair.
Talented young designer graduates
Matthew Baldwin
Young designer, Matthew Baldwin, graduated with a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Furniture & Related Product Design, with a design prize already to his name. In his first year at Bucks, Matthew was the winner of a design competition organised by innovative social enterprise, StreetShine, which gives disadvantaged people a chance to step up into regular employment by becoming professional shoe shiners serving top firms and hotels in London. StreetShine invited Bucks students to design a shoe shiner’s box, and Matthew won first prize with his highly sculptured yet practical, portable design. His concept was manufactured during his final year and there are now 20 shoe-shine boxes in use by StreetShine shiners working across London. Matthew, from Needham Market, Suffolk, said: “My plans for the future are to be a successful furniture designer and to work with inspirational people. I think StreetShine’s work is very valuable and integral in helping people get back into work, and I’m pleased to have helped in some way. The experience was valuable and helped me understand the work that goes into manufacturing a product. Also I was really pleased to be able to use my skills to aid a charitable organisation.”
The beat goes on for Hazlemere PCSO Daton Daton Beckford is one of Bucks New University’s first student Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and he graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Police Studies with Criminal Investigation. Daton, from Hackney, East London, was one of the first cohort of Bucks students to take part in a revolutionary work-based learning scheme involving the training of police studies degree students to work as part-time PCSOs with Thames Valley Police, as part of their undergraduate studies. At his graduation, Daton also received a special award from Thames Valley Police for outstanding dedication and commitment, throughout the duration of the course. Looking back, Daton, who has dyslexia, says: “Back in school, I didn’t think university was a possibility.” Ever since his careers advisor convinced him otherwise, that has all changed. Once he’d set his heart on a police studies degree, he chose Bucks for its highly-regarded policing, criminology and forensics teaching, and when he was accepted onto the course, things got even better:
“The University and Thames Valley Police formed a new partnership, which gave me the chance to become a part-time PCSO. I was trained in areas like neighbourhood policing, race equality and health and safety. I worked 16 hours a week and it was a great feeling to be recognised in the area I patrolled and to know that I made a difference.” After two years as a PCSO, both his degree and training have been of great use. He has faced numerous situations that required his skills as he walked the beat in Hazlemere. Daton said: “Late one Saturday, I was called to an incident. When I arrived I had three parties to deal with - the offender, the victim and several members of the public. Everyone was arguing and shouting and I needed all my communication skills to stop further offences being committed while I called for back-up. I kept the offender detained, and safe from angry residents, and I believe my contribution was a key factor in resolving the dispute to everybody’s satisfaction. “My ambition is to become a police dog handler and to return to Hackney so I can police there. Thanks to this degree I know I have a good chance of achieving that goal. It was the best choice I ever made.”
Daton Beckford