CASE STUDY 1
Melissa( 17) is a sociable person who was always very popular at school. She passed her GCSEs with 9s and 8s throughout. She has gone to her local college with many of her friends to study A-Levels. Melissa knows she needs to work hard to get the grades to go to university. Her dream is to study law at either Oxford or Cambridge.
SITUATION
Melissa has come to you looking for support with applying to her chosen university.
She has told you she is staying with her friend for a while and seems concerned about the student finance and if she needs a reference / family details.
You’ ve also noticed she looks tired and is often coming to college / youth club in her work uniform.
QUESTIONS
1. If this student came to you, how might you recognize they are estranged?
2. What would you do next in your role?
3. What are the gaps of support in your organisation?
Melissa struggled when her friends started dating boys. She felt confused about her sexuality and didn’ t feel like she could talk to her family about it. She didn’ t know who else to turn to and felt very lonely. She started to feel depressed and fed up with hiding her sexuality.
After struggling through her first year of A-Levels and with the support of her closest friend who she could confide in, Melissa told her parents she was gay. She had predicted they would be shocked; however, she hadn’ t expected that they would throw her out of the house and refuse to accept her as their daughter anymore until she‘ returned to her senses’.
Devastated, Melissa has been staying with her best friend’ s family for the rest of the summer. They are helping her find somewhere to live during her final year at college, but it looks like she will have to move every few months. She has had to get a job to keep herself financially afloat. It has been a huge shock and although relieved to have come out she battles with depression, stress and worries about her living arrangements and future. Her determination to hold on to her dream of becoming a solicitor is keeping her going.
She has been making use of the extracurricular opportunities offered by her college to enhance her chances of progressing to her chosen universities.
She is worrying about a load of questions she doesn’ t know the answers to: how is she going to afford to live while at uni? And where can she go during the summer holidays? What about student finance? She hasn’ t spoken to her parents over the past year and they certainly aren’ t going to change their minds! Melissa also doesn’ t want anybody to know that her parents aren’ t supporting her.
Case Study UCP Estranged Students CPD August 2022