Jessica Charlish

Jessica was inspired after seeing family and friends proudly returning from University having earned their degrees. But despite her motivation, she felt apprehensive about whether she could succeed at higher education learning. Wanting to test the waters, Jessica enrolled on one of the OU’s introductory Access modules which she successfully completed, and now, not only does she have a BA (Hons) in Business Management, but she is on her way to completing a Master’s.

Jessica Charlish was a self-admitted rebel at school and left with few qualifications, unsure about her career path.  She tried courses in Accounting as well as Health and Beauty, but neither sparked enough passion for her to complete them. However, when her sister completed a degree and she saw her friends proudly returning from University, Jessica decided she wanted to achieve something for herself, and she began looking at Business Degrees with the Open University. 

“When my sister got her degree, I felt like I was missing out. I always knew that I wanted to be my own boss and I naturally had an entrepreneurial streak, so I started looking at Business Degrees; but I just didn’t feel confident that I had what it took to successfully complete one,” said Jessica. 

Access paved the way for Business degree

Thankfully, Jessica came across the OU’s Access courses, which are an introduction to distance learning and provide students with the opportunity to pick the subjects they’re most interested in. 

The Access module was fantastic. It really is an introduction to online University-style learning and gives you a taster of different elements of the degree, like law, business, HR, and marketing. Completing it boosted my confidence and helped me to see that I was much more capable than I thought and as soon as I’d done my Access module, I went straight into my BA (Hons) in Business Management!”

Alongside her studies, Jessica stayed true to her ambition to be her own boss and has set up multiple companies across different industries, which collectively employ over 150 staff.

“My degree was a real help when I was setting up my businesses. Although a lot of running a business is about learning as you go, my studies gave me an insight to things like HR, finance, and marketing, that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. That gave me the confidence to make decisions and move forwards.” 

Pausing study and deadline extensions

“My degree took me seven years in the end as I took a year off halfway through to have my child. It was brilliant that I was able to put my studies on hold while I focused on being a new mum and meant that I could return when I felt ready.”

“I did have to ask for extensions to assignment deadlines, but knowing that I could definitely allowed me to stay on track and complete my degree.”

From an Access course to a Master’s degree

Jessica attended her graduation ceremony in Brighton, where she first began pondering the possibility of embarking upon a Master’s degree. 

I was so proud collecting my degree. The reward and satisfaction felt like such a buzz I started wondering whether I could actually take on a Master’s degree! I picked up an MBA prospectus while I was there, and the rest is history.”

Jessica is now partway through an MSc (Open) and will be the first person in her family to have a Master’s. 

“It feels like such a personal achievement to be doing a Master’s. It just goes to show that everyone’s journey is unique and that there is no set way or time to access higher education.”

If you aren’t sure about whether you can do University study then I would definitely say to give an Access course a go. And if you aren’t sure about what you want to do beyond that, then take a look at the Open degrees where you can tailor the subjects.”

Asked about the future, Jessica said “Once I’ve finished my Master’s, I’ll focus on growing my businesses. And I will have peace of mind in knowing that however life works out, I will always have my qualifications to fall back on.”