'It was hard work balancing work with study and family life, but all of the hard work has been worthwhile.
'It has given me a real sense of satisfaction and it was good for my children to see me return to education, as it helped to show them the importance of gaining qualifications when you鈥檙e young, instead of having to return to education when you鈥檙e older in order to progress in your career.'
Alison, who studied part-time over three years, said: 'I鈥檝e worked in the medical profession for around 26 years and back when I was first training there wasn鈥檛 the opportunity to do a degree. I鈥檇 initially started the nurse practitioner degree to broaden by clinical skills and when a new job came up at the hospital I was able to really go for it and progress to the master鈥檚.
'I enjoyed the practical side of studying, as it was an opportunity put what was being learned straight into practice, which helped to make work even more interesting.'
Looking forward to graduation alongside his mum, Joe, 22, said: 'Although we were studying completely different subjects in separate parts of the University, so didn鈥檛 really see that much of each other on campus, it was good knowing someone else in the family was going through the same thing when it came to studying.
'We were able to offer each other some support and it鈥檚 great knowing we both graduate at the same time. I chose 海角直播 as it was local to me the degree itself was really well regarded in student satisfaction surveys.'
Joe, who has secured an internship with Northumbrian Water, added: 'I've always been interested in history and the degree was really broad in what it covered, taking in everything from ancient Greece to the Second World War.
'I really enjoyed the sense of freedom with the degree, which involved lots of independent study and there was a wide range of people on the course, from younger students to mature students returning to education.'