The end of an era

<div class&equals;"fr-view"><p>It seems strange to think that after nearly six years of study I have only one assignment left to complete my degree pathway&period; What started out as just something to keep me occupied during lockdown became so much more&comma; and reignited in me not only a passion for my subject area but also a renewed interest in research and critical enquiry&period; What a journey it’s been&period; And for that I’m extremely grateful&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But perhaps more importantly&comma; the last few years have given me the opportunity to make so many amazing connections with other people&comma; which took me from a position of being on my own just with my laptop churning out assignments&comma; to being involved in a range of extra curricula activities and events&comma; both within the University and with Open SU&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It is often said that distance learning can be lonely and isolating&comma; and that is probably true in many respects&period; But if you have the time and inclination to get involved with other initiatives that are offered&comma; then it really does feel like you become part of a meaningful community&period; And certainly that is how I’ve felt since the first time I made the decision to apply for a volunteer role&comma; about three years ago&period; From that time my involvement has increased in ways I wouldn’t have imagined when I registered for my very first module&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Although my degree programme is coming to an end&comma; I hope that won’t signal the end of my learning journey with The Open University&period; All being well&comma; I plan to continue to postgraduate level&comma; so we’ll see how that goes&period; And hopefully that means I’ll maintain some&comma; if not all&comma; of those amazing connections I’ve made over the years&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Okay – back to assignment writing&period; I can’t procrastinate any longer or it won’t get finished &excl;&excl;&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But best of luck to all those people who are also completing their final EMAs or exams this academic year&period; Maybe we’ll meet somewhere at a graduation event&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"zfWrap">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>