Picture: Diarmuid Greene/Fusionshooters
A CAHERCONLISH man who completed a college degree as a mature student says that returning to education was one of the best decisions he ever made.
Mark Cosgrove (27) recently graduated with a Bsc in Pharmaceutical and Forensic Analysis and as he proudly accepted his scroll along with 1,700 others graduating this year from LIT, he said that it’s never too late for education.
“I did a poor Leaving Cert and did not have an interest in college when I left school. I first took up a job with a local man maintaining properties and power-washing houses. I then did a PLC course in fire and ambulance in CCL. It wasn’t until I was that bit older that I decided to go back and it was one of the best decisions I ever made,” he said.
“I really enjoyed my time in LIT. I felt lucky to have such close interaction with lecturers, which made learning very easy as any question, stupid or not was answered.
“The lecturers in LIT had a wide variety of backgrounds from forensics to microbiology resulting in diverse expertise. The amount of lab time that we received during the four years was also excellent. This would not be available in other institutes or universities,” explained Mark.
Although Mark feels he could have worked harder in secondary school, he notes that not everyone has to go to third level immediately after finishing school.
“I would have applied myself a bit more and studied harder in school. But it is never too late to go back to further education,’ he concluded.
