Alumni – Where are they now?

Emma Ferguson, past pupil from St Joseph’s College Stoke-on-Trent

I attended a very over-subscribed mixed comprehensive secondary school and unfortunately did not get the full support I needed to reach my full potential academically due to teacher focus being on managing behaviour rather than learning. However, I was

extremely ambitious and wanted to attend a sixth form that had a good academic record, but also one which would prepare me for life after education and shape me into a well-rounded young adult. Upon attending an open evening for St Joseph’s, I knew that its sixth form would provide me with an open, supportive, inclusive environment in which to develop my academic and interpersonal skills; the teachers were warm and welcoming, the cohort of students were passionate about learning and from diverse backgrounds and I was really excited about the extra-curricular activities that the college had to offer including humanitarian work overseas.

One of the key experiences I had whilst studying at St Josephs was attending a week-long retreat called Encounter, which I have the privilege of attending and then leading the following year. This pupil-lead retreat provides a safe, open and supportive space to share worries, fears, difficult personal circumstances and to develop skills and mechanisms to deal with the same. The experience encouraged me to form and strengthen relationships with people from difference cultures and backgrounds and to recognise the plethora of issues that young adults face in both their academic and personal settings. I am now a more empathetic, understanding, and aware person as a result.

The other stand-out experience I had at St Joseph’s was my humanitarian excursion to Sierra Leone with the Christian Brothers. During my two-week trip, I attended local schools at which I taught the students, I attended local churches and participated in and enjoyed the local service, I spent time with native communities and also worked on a project which assisting women to develop skills which would enable them to provide a living for themselves and their families. This experience greatly humbled me. I practice gratitude daily and I continue to contribute my time to a number of charities both domestically and internationally. Further, having spent time in Sierra Leone, I opted to study International Relations and Global Issues at the University of Nottingham which had a focus on development and my Masters thesis related to post-war sexual violence in Sierra Leone. I would never have had these experiences in an ordinary college and these are just some of the reasons I would encourage anyone to consider attending an Edmund Rice School.

Finally, I achieved great academic results at St Josephs, due in large part to being in an environment where everyone was keen to learn and the passion that my teachers had for teaching. I am now a lawyer working for an international law firm in Australia and I continue to strive for excellence in the work that I do.