GRADUATE NEWS
Read about the journeys of our newest alumni- from our Student of the Year, to a new doctor with an inspiring story
Lauren Keen has been named Keele University’ s Neil and Gina Smith Student of the Year after graduating with a degree in Biochemistry and Medicinal Chemistry while balancing life as a new mother, NHS worker and full-time student.
14 | FOREVER Keele
GRADUATE NEWS
The remarkable stories of our new graduates
Read about the journeys of our newest alumni- from our Student of the Year, to a new doctor with an inspiring story
Lauren Keen has been named Keele University’ s Neil and Gina Smith Student of the Year after graduating with a degree in Biochemistry and Medicinal Chemistry while balancing life as a new mother, NHS worker and full-time student.
Lauren’ s route to higher education was far from traditional. After leaving school at 12 and spending much of her teenage years living abroad in Norway and Malta, she returned to the UK at 18 with few formal qualifications and began rebuilding her education from scratch. She completed her GCSEs, worked as a healthcare assistant, and studied for an Access to Higher Education diploma before joining Keele.
Her son was born just weeks before the start of her second year and required intensive care shortly after birth, adding to the challenges she faced.
Reflecting on her journey, Lauren said:“ I started my journey in education a bit later than others, and you could say I took a slightly alternative route to most people to get to where I am today.”
Lauren credits the support of Keele staff and lecturers for helping her succeed.
During her studies, Lauren worked part-time as a nursing assistant in the Accident and Emergency Department at Royal Stoke University Hospital while raising two young children.