Woman who switched careers studying for therapy degree
A woman who switched career and is now studying for a Master’s degree aged 59 says it is never too late to make a change.
Jenny Blackwell was a nursery nurse until her late 30s when she began training as a therapist.
Ms Blackwell now holds music for wellbeing clinics at the Children’s Assessment Centre at Buckland Hospital in Dover, Kent.
“I never imagined I’d be able to have such a fulfilling career when I first left school, and I feel very lucky to be able to combine the different ingredients of my skills, interests and life experiences to create one,” she said.
Ms Blackwell qualified as a speech and language therapist in 2017, and now combines that with running music groups for older people with the charity Music 4 Wellbeing.
“As a child, I wanted to be a nurse or an actress, and with my roles now, I’m almost combining the two, with a caring, therapeutic side and the performance aspect of my music groups,” she said.
She is also part of a team which holds Talking Walk-In drop-in sessions for parents concerned about their children’s speech or communication at sites in Dover and Deal.
'Accepted and nurtured'
Her music for wellbeing sessions are aimed at older adults living with dementia or other conditions, including Parkinson’s or those with learning disabilities.
She said: “The groups are a really joyous part of my life. We sing a mixture of songs and incorporate fun memory activities, some signing and actions like throwing a ball in time with the rhythm and using body percussion.
“We have so much fun and it can help disperse the harshness of life for an hour, and give people a place they can belong and where they are accepted and nurtured.”
Ms Blackwell is also studying for a Master's degree, looking at how music can be used within speech therapy to improve outcomes for children.
“I would love to find the evidence to be able to develop a programme that can be used by other practitioners in different settings and that helps to give children a better start in life,” she said.
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