Flight Sergeant Dawn Gabriele

"The one thing the OU gives anybody in the Services is the flexibility to study anywhere."
 
Flight Sergeant Dawn Gabriele

• Aerospace Systems Manager
• RAF Boulmer, Northumberland
• 42 years old

 
OU courses studied:
D103, DSE202, T171, E123, E124, ED209, E111
 
"I've been with the Air Force for just over 24 years. I'm leaving next year. I started my first course with the OU back in 1998. I've got a Certificate in Early Years Practice and I'm currently studying for a Foundation Degree in Early Years, and possibly then going on to a BA (Hons) in Early Years.
 
I joined the OU mainly because my husband, who's in the Air Force as well, was studying with the OU at the time. He was fitting studying in around his shifts and I decided I'd like to try something similar. The OU offers lots of diversity and lots of different topics so there's bound to be something that will take your interest. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I started out with a Social Sciences course as I'd done sociology at school.
 
I really enjoyed that as a first dip into what the OU was all about. At the time I was living in Milton Keynes so it was great to have tutorials at the headquarters. The one thing the OU gives anybody in the Services is the flexibility to study anywhere. I've since worked in Shetland, Cornwall, Scotland and Germany. The IT course I did gave me more confidence on the IT side of things in my job. It certainly tightened up my writing skills. Studying with the OU has given me a real passion for life-long learning. Though it's hard work, I do like it. I've actually got friends and colleagues involved in doing courses at the OU; I say 'If I can do it, so can you'. I mainly study in the evenings. You have to be quite disciplined. I've had some extremely good tutors. They've been very flexible with deadlines, as long as you get to the end goal.
 
At the moment I travel to Durham for tutorials. When I was in Shetland, I did a lot of phone tutorials. When I had problems I called and said 'I can't see where I'm going with this'. I had the flexibility of support face-to-face, on the phone and I make use of the First Class online student forum. With the online facilities, students are able to support each other, which is really helpful. I'm not sure you get that with other distance-learning providers. Sometimes I think I'm quite lazy! It's easy to get drawn into the First Class chat ; some of the topics are really quite intriguing.
 
I like the way the OU sets out coursework and gives you clear guidance about what's expected for coursework and assessments. When there are problems there is always someone to turn to and everything you need to complete the course is delivered to you. I like the way the OU operates, it's very efficient and effective. I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone. When I leave, I plan to work in early learning. My degree will help with that. There is such a good variety of courses, there's so much you can do with the OU!"