Sing it! Bright careers ahead for choir members
SCALING high educational heights seemed out of reach to Kathleena Twomey and Emma Richardson — but that was before they were introduced to An Cosán.
An Cosán has its roots in The Shanty, a community-based adult education organisation set up by Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone and her late wife, Dr Anne Louise Gilligan, in Tallaght, south west Dublin, 31 years ago.
It became An Cosán, providing programmes up to degree level and, in more recent years, has become a virtual community college, offering blended learning programmes with weekly online classes, through many of the 150 community centres nationwide. Currently, there are 245 learners on its higher education programmes.
Kathleena and Emma met as members of High Hopes, a choir made up of people affected by homelessness which was set up in 2014 by conductor David Brophy. Kathleena (33), who is living in Focus accommodation in Smithfield, Dublin, recalls her life-changing moment when Maria Flanagan from An Cosán came to a performance.
Some years earlier, Kathleena had been halfway through third year of a social work degree on the TCD’s Access programme, TAP, when she had to drop out.
She ended up in hospital for a period. When she was back on her feet, Kathleena spotted an ad for High Hopes and herself and her Focus Ireland keyworker signed up together.
“Maria Flanagan came to a concert and I got talking to her. She told me about An Cosán and
that started me on my first course.”
Kathleena says she was a “bit nervous at the beginning” to be tackling an online course but quickly settled.
Kathleena and Emma both received a Certificate of Achievement in Introduction to Community Drugs Work at the annual An Cosán graduation ceremony last weekend.
They are now on a year-long Certificate in Leadership and Community Development, which has progression paths towards a BA degree award. Kathleena says her “dream has always been to get a degree”.
Unlike Kathleena, Emma says she didn’t personally know anyone with drug problems when she started the first course and “it allowed me to open my eyes on some people’s situations and to try to understand them”.
The mother of two had previously done a course with Focus Ireland’s education programme PETE. Her sights are now firmly fixed on attaining a degree “and better career opportunities”.