LSBU student Priscilla Adeola on the #150leaders project
Priscilla Adeola is a Diagnostic Radiography student who has recently joined the #150leaders project, a student leadership programme aimed at promoting leadership skills in health care students. We asked her how she was finding the experience.
What obstacles did you encounter before you joined LSBU?
Due to the UK immigration system, at a point in my life, I was unable to progress to university to complete my studies and spent 8 years trying to regularise my stay.
There is an estimate of 215,000 undocumented children living in the UK due to various reasons which then has a domino effect on their social life, personal life and mental health. You start to find that you can’t do basic things your peers are doing like opening a bank account, working, even obtaining a basic form of official ID card such as a provisional drivers licence, as well as dealing with the stigma and mental torture of being stagnant in life – these were some of the struggles I faced.
Can you tell us about the support you had from LSBU?
When I finally got my UK settlement, the first career I found myself doing was in property management. However, with time, it soon dawned on me that it wasn’t where my passion was and thus I began a hunt that led me to Diagnostic Radiography in January 2020 – just before the Covid-19 pandemic.
I began researching into the course and universities and found LSBU, which was very convenient for me due to its location as I didn’t want to move out of London. I contacted staff with details found on the course website giving a bit of background history of myself and explaining that I had been out of education for 10 years and seeking advice on the best route to return to education and for admission.
I got a response back, advising me to attend the upcoming open day in March 2020 and with other relevant info such as doing work experience in a Radiology department and doing an access course.
Luckily I was able to attend the open day just few weeks before we went into lockdown and I got a good introduction to the university and the course as well as viewing the on-site practical skills lab. I also got to meet with the member of staff that had originally responded to my enquiry email. She became quite instrumental to my journey back to education and into LSBU. When I had further enquiries relating to the access course and admission, she responded and encouraged me that I was going in the right direction.
Why did you want to study Diagnostic Radiography?
After I knew I wanted to study a healthcare course, I began doing some research into various options and was drawn to Diagnostic Radiography. As I didn’t know much about it and knew only one Diagnostic Radiographer in my friendship circle I was intrigued to learn about the combination of technology and science to produce diagnostic images to manage health conditions.
I also found that the role of a Diagnostic Radiographer is very crucial in the healthcare setting as most patients during their time in hospital will come across a Diagnostic Radiographer. This highlighted the importance of the profession and was in line with my aim to align with a profession where I will be making a difference and contribute to the society, at large.
What have you enjoyed about the course and placements so far?
So far I have enjoyed being able to put theory to practice. It is one thing to be taught how to position and do a chest x-ray in lectures, it is another having a patient in real life and being hands on. I also enjoy the fact that no one patient is ever the same - it is exciting and keeps me on my toes to practise great patient-centred care and being present always.
How did you find out about the #150leaders project and what was the selection process?
The #150 leaders project is a student leadership programme by the Council of Deans of Health and I found out about it when it was announced open for application by our Dean of Health in May 2022. I was reluctant at first as I wasn’t sure I qualified or had what it took to apply but I did anyway. There was an initial application that asked questions on a personal level, why we were doing our health care course and also potential project ideas. I found out later it was quite a competitive process as only about 62 students were picked in this cohort out of numerous applications.
I found out in July I had been chosen, which was very exciting. In September 2022, the Council of Dean hosted all selected students from all over the UK with a 2 days opening conference in in Reading which was an inspiring to meet like minds and to see the passion of each of us had for our healthcare professions.
What is involved in this project?
Its aim is to promote and develop leadership skills in health care students, to encourage and coach students to be outstanding leaders in their profession and so once in the system, those core leadership skills that have been identified can be harnessed and developed continuously.
What are you planning to do for your project?
The project I am planning on is to put a spotlight on individuals’ stories of resilience/ stories of bouncing-back. The idea came about looking at my own life journey and realising that there are many more people who have also gone through various obstacles in life and yet bounced back to go back to education.
In a nutshell, my aim is to Educate. Encourage. Inspire. With a special interest in health care courses.
- Educate, people by sharing different stories of obstacles they have gone through and bounced back from.
- Encourage, those going through similar situations that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and not to give up.
- Inspire, people to bounce back! It is never too late.