MK College Student of the Year overcoming every obstacle to succeed

Most people faced with the difficulties of Oshia Samuel-Mitchel would struggle to make it out of bed in the morning, let alone be setting their sights on a Master’s Degree in Nursing. 

But thanks to her unwavering passion for excellence in everything she does, both academically and personally, Oshia has sailed through her Access to Higher Education Health Professions course at Milton Keynes College to become a dedicated healthcare professional. 

Oshia combines being a mum working nights, supporting a close friend undergoing palliative care and supervising the long-distance care of her mother who lives in the West Indies.  All of this while recovering from a significant knee injury that affected her mobility and caused her considerable pain.

Oshia was revealed as the overall winner at MK College Group’s annual Students of the Year Awards, in a heartwarming and spectacular evening at Stadium MK.  She was selected from an inspirational group of award winners picked from every college department who all received individual honours at the event.

Moments after receiving her award, Oshia said, “I couldn’t believe it; I’m still a bit shocked.  I did my first degree eleven years ago and wanted to do a Master’s in Adult Nursing.  The Access Course was hard with back-to-back assignments.  I’ve got kids and was working nights.  I was looking after my friend with cancer in her last days and my mum has dementia and I have a serious knee injury, so it was difficult.  But I wanted my kids to see you can do anything with the right mindset.  I’m so happy I did it.”

She had high praise for the staff on her course.  “They’re such a lovely team at Milton Keynes College.  The staff support you so much, in fact I’ve never had such great support as I’ve had here from my tutors.”

Oshia’s tutor Tina Sumpter says, “Despite facing this extraordinary combination of personal, emotional, and physical challenges, Oshia’s attendance, engagement, and academic commitment has never wavered.  She has remained a focused, resilient, and inspiring student, consistently striving to achieve her best. Her perseverance, compassion, and strength of character throughout such difficulties are absolutely remarkable.” 

Milton Keynes College Group Principal and CEO, Sally Alexander, said, “Every year I come to the Students of the Year Awards and every year I’m overwhelmed by the quality of the winners, not just in terms of their achievements but because of who they are as people.  Our mantra is Fairer Futures for All; the winners here all demonstrate so clearly that if you give people opportunities to learn coupled with great teaching and support, there is nothing they can’t achieve.”