‘Suddenly, I saw myself sitting in a lecture hall, or walking around campus’
After missing out on the chance to go to university, Heather Short, now 65, from Hampshire, decided she wasn’t going to wait any longer.
Istarted working aged 18. I couldn’t afford to go to university, so after A levels, I joined Natwest as a bank clerk. I was disappointed and sometimes felt inferior to my friends and colleagues who had degrees. Then I realised I could take my banking exams through work, which also meant I got a Higher National Diploma in Business Studies. In 1981, I joined IBM, where I stayed for 21 years and studied for a Diploma in Management Studies.
I think my motivation came from my need to prove I could get qualifications, even though I hadn’t been to university. It can be a strange and uncomfortable feeling when everyone else has a degree except you, so I knew I wanted to keep learning and improving myself.
As the years passed, the dream of going to university slowly drifted to the back of my mind. I was busy with work and bringing up our sons, Matt and Will, along with my husband, Howard.
It was only when Matt was applying for university that the yearning to be a student came rushing back. The whole university experience seemed to be alive and exciting, and there were lots of opportunities not just to study, but to get involved with societies and extra-curricular activities. Suddenly,
I saw myself sitting in a lecture hall, or walking around campus. When Matt said, ‘Mum, why don’t you do it now?’, I decided it was time.
I was delighted when I found out
I was eligible to apply for an MBA (Master of Business Administration) rather than an undergraduate course
Now I am proud to be Dr Heather Short and I teach an MBA course
and, in September 2009, aged 52, I started a part-time Masters course at the University of Portsmouth. I was the oldest in the class and, when I started talking to the other students, I suddenly felt intimidated. They were all very keen to tell me about their impressive jobs and I felt like a fish out of water. Starting to question whether I fitted in, I decided to quit the course after two weeks.
I’ll always be grateful for the phone call from one of the other students who told me not be ridiculous. He said so many positive and encouraging words that I quickly changed my mind and went back to classes the next week. I knew I hadn’t come all this way just to give up.
I graduated in July 2012 with distinction. But the crowning moment was when I was asked to present my final MBA project at a prestigious academic conference in Portugal. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I was so proud of myself.
After my presentation, one professor told me I should do a PHD. It had been on my mind but his comments gave me the impetus to go forward. Doing my PHD was very different to the Masters, and I quickly became quite isolated because of how demanding it was. Many times, I felt like giving up or would ask myself why I was doing this, but I stuck with it.
Graduation day, in the summer of 2016, was surreal. With the sun shining, my family in the front row cheering me on, and then-chancellor Sandi Toksvig congratulating me, it was such a magical day. Tears of pure happiness (as well as Prosecco) were flowing all day.
Now I’m proud to be Dr Heather Short, and I teach an MBA course at the Open University. I’d never imagined I would teach in a university, but it’s one of the most rewarding things in the world, and I have finally fulfilled my dream.
I love the discipline of ballet, the precision of each movement
After years of ignoring her passion for dance, Chrystella Soteriou joined Silver Swans ballet classes at the age of 60, and says it’s the best thing she’s ever done.
Iremember being given a pair of slippers that looked like ballet shoes when I was about four years old. I put them on and danced on the lino flooring of the kitchen. It’s a very vivid memory that has stayed with me. But although I loved to dance, I didn’t feel I could ask my parents to send me to ballet lessons. They seemed too much of an extravagance in my family, when there were many other things to pay for.
As a result of my upbringing, I was
a very practical person who followed a conventional path. I worked in sales and marketing, and concentrated on making a living. Whenever I wanted to let loose, or treat myself, I found myself promising it for the future. It was always tomorrow, but tomorrow never arrived.
In 2005, the company I was working for went into liquidation. I was 47 and the stability I thought I had disappeared. It was then I realised no matter what path you choose, things can always come from left field and throw you off. It made me reassess my entire future and I decided I wanted to start following my dreams.
I started training as a Pilates teacher. It was a risk because I wasn’t well off at the time, but I loved it and realised I was feeling a lot happier. It wasn’t ballet, but I was one step closer to dance than I had been. Since then, I’ve been teaching Pilates full time.
Then, in the summer of 2019, I saw a poster for Silver Swans ballet classes, which are run by the Royal Academy of Dance for over 55s. There was a class being held close to my home in south London. I thought it sounded wonderful and went along for a taster session.
During the very first class, I felt pure joy and excitement. The teacher, Sarah Platt, outlined the basics of where to place my hand on the barre, how to stand, keep my balance and get the perfect posture for first and second position. I loved the discipline of it, the precision of every movement.
Sarah played Fauré’s Requiem, the music I’d played years earlier on the night before my dad, Andrew, passed away. I became so emotional because it was such a beautiful feeling to suddenly feel like coming home. It really felt like my dad was there with me.
Joining Silver Swans is the best thing I have ever done. Not only are there physical benefits for your co-ordination, muscles and core, but it also improves your mental health because there’s a certain level of mindfulness, freedom and self-expression you get from ballet. At 63, I’m able to do so much more with my body now than I could at 19, and that’s amazing.
I’m proud I didn’t listen to the voices of fear or doubt, and had the courage to go for something I always wanted to do. The best part is that I’m still learning and growing; I’m still challenging my body to do things that are new to me. I’ve never really believed in ‘age’, I still feel young, so I feel there are no limits, except the ones we impose on ourselves.
• Visit royalacademyofdance.org/ dance-with-us/silverswans/