The life of a lecturer from Gwynedd has been transformed by returning to higher education.

Gemma Stone-Williams, a lecturer at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, decided to go back to college and earn a degree after her youngest child finished primary school.

Ms Stone-Williams said: "It totally changed the course of my life".

She took up a BA (Hons) in Business Management at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor's Dolgellau campus in 2017.

Ms Stone-Williams was so inspired by her lecturers that she decided to stay on and undertake a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).

Currently, she is teaching part-time at the college and also manages her own property management business.

She has said that she "loves going" to her job at the college, and she is glad she returned to education.

Ms Stone-Williams said: "It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.

"It’s totally changed the course of my life.

"It’s helped me get a job I really enjoy and love going to every day.

"It’s really rewarding helping students with their education, and anyone who’s thinking about doing a PGCE, I’d say go for it."

Gemma Stone-Williams (right) and fellow PGCE students in graduation gowns  (Image: Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor)

When Ms Stone-Williams first applied to return to college, she chose the Business Management degree because she felt it would go with her holiday lets enterprise.

However, the experience of learning and the inspiration she drew from her lecturers, resulted in a sharp turn in her career path, leading her towards education.

Speaking about her initial motivations to return to college, She said: "I was at a bit of a crossroads - my children were a bit older."

She added: "I was running my own business, but I’d always wanted to go back and do a degree.

"I decided to do the business course because I felt it would apply to my own business and I could fit it around my work."

Going back to education was not without its challenges.

However, she shared that the support from her teachers and the flexibility of fitting her course around home life and business were vital to her success.

Ms Stone-Williams explained: "While Catrin, Sioned and Lyndsey were teaching me I was thinking ‘I’d really enjoy doing that job’, and they just really inspired me to want to go into teaching."

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Speaking about the PGCE course she said: "I loved the PGCE course."

She added: "I really enjoyed learning about teaching and understanding the principles of teaching, and have found it really rewarding."

Since completing her PGCE, Ms Stone-Williams has gained a wide range of experiences teaching different subjects at various levels, strengthening and diversifying her professional profile.

Ms Stone-Williams added: "The first year of teaching was quite challenging, but as I’m developing myself it’s getting easier and hopefully it will get easier from now on.

“I did a lot of business when I first started teaching."

She finished by saying: "Being able to have that much experience of different levels in my first couple of years, and getting to work with the different departments, has been great."