Above: Anne Eynon (51) and her son Michael (22) graduated on the same day from the University of Chichester on Saturday 17th October 2009.
Anne who has battled throat cancer twice, in 1996 and 1997, has gone on to complete her PGCE in Teaching and finally achieve her life-long ambition of becoming a teacher.
The mother-of-three from Saltdean, Brighton, said: “Having cancer really did change my perspective on life and priorities so it’s fantastic that just over 10 years later I’ve been able to do something that I’ve always wanted to do. I did my first degree back in the 1970s and I’ve also wanted to teach but then I got married and had a family. So this is a dream come true.” Anne expressed how much she had enjoyed being a student again, and admitted that she and Michael learned from each other.
“It was a thrilling experience to be back at university with my son. I thought he might be embarrassed but he wasn’t. I helped him at times with his academic studies and he helped me with student etiquette-giving me fashion tips and how to fit in as a mature student! We only quibbled over who could use the study and computer,” she said.
Michael, who graduated with a BSc in Sports Science, hardly needed more reason to celebrate this special day, but in addition to his mother’s inspirational story, the ceremony took place on his 23rd birthday.
Over 1,000 students and 4,000 family and friends celebrated at five graduation ceremonies during 16th and 17th October at the Chichester Festival Theatre.
Anne was very excited about the ceremony and concluded: “This really has been a dream come true for me and its great to be able to share this fantastic occasion with my son.”
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