Finance whizz Shivani Sud has secured a place at Loughborough University with flying colours despite condensing A levels to ensure she could care for her elderly grandmother.
The 18-year-old Loughborough resident secured A stars in A level Maths, Accounting and Economics and is on her way to do a BSc in Accounting and Financial Management with a placement year.
She condensed a two-year maths A level into one year and then did two A levels in her second year so that she could be there for her grandmother Bimla, 85.
The talented student said: “I’m very happy with my results. It’s been a strange year in that I haven’t taken exams and there’s a part of me that wonders whether I deserve it and perhaps I would be more deserving had I sat the exams myself. But I’m happy.
“The reason I took A level maths in the first year and then going for two A levels in my second year was so that I could care for my grandma. Having the flexibility of mixing my A levels allowed me to care for and spend time with her.
“I do her hair every morning, help her get dressed and keep her company. Although the pandemic came with a lot of stress for a lot of people, it did mean I could spend more time with her. I think I got into a good routine in knowing my lesson times and working around my different lessons.”
Shivani’s caring nature doesn’t stop at home. She says she wants to get her degree to go into accounting and would eventually like to work in finance for a charity.
“I would love to use my skills to work for a charity that cares for people or animals,” she said.
Like many other students, Shivani said lockdowns were a double-edged sword. On one hand they enabled her to provide care for her elderly grandma whilst still being able to focus on her studies, but on the other it denied her a social life and the chance to boss her exams.
“At first, it was a bit of a relief to not have to go to College for lessons because it did get tiring and over time I got used to it,” she said.
“But three-hour lessons online were tiring and I started to miss the social side and being in a different environment.
“Because we weren’t doing exams, it meant motivation was a challenge at times, but teachers gave us many pieces of work throughout the year which would go towards our assessed grade. So it was like lots of little exams.”
Shivani said there were clear benefits such as being able to upload assignments easily to Teams for tutors to review and being able to access tutors for support through online messaging.
She added: “I had brilliant tutors. The support was always great and my tutors put on special support sessions so I could always ask questions and get the answers or guidance I needed. They definitely had an understanding of what we were going through, because they were going through it as well, and I appreciated that the teachers were also under stress trying to adapt to remote learning.”
Shivani said she wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Loughborough College for young people who want to learn independently in a supportive and nurturing environment. “It was a big jump going from school to Loughborough College because you are suddenly far more independent so if I had a free period, I could do what I wanted, like going into the library. I would definitely recommend the courses I did because of the teachers I worked with.”
, Principal & CEO of Loughborough College, said: “We are thrilled for Shivani as she has worked so hard to be able to get her grades and secure a place at university on top of being a carer. She is an absolute star and we wish her every success in her next step.”