Forging their own paths

Meet the remarkable �鶹��ý alumni who were the first in their families to go to university

Going to university is a big step for anyone. But if you have no one around you who has ever been to uni, or even considered it, how do you come to the decision to apply?

From law to ocean science, meet three graduates and a current student who started their adventure independently, and are now forging their own path for others to follow.

If you too were the first in your family to go to university, and would like to share your story with us to inspire future students, please contact us alumni@plymouth.ac.uk

Lynette Viney-Passig

Lynette Viney-Passig, LLB Law, 2003

From kitchen table to managing director

If TV dramas are to be believed, law firms are usually occupied by no-nonsense, straight-talking characters in suits.

So to find a firm led by a ‘smalltown’ woman with a friendly demeanour is a positive contrast. And the skills and ambition employed by Lynette Viney-Passig saw her progress from trainee solicitor to managing director – catalysed by her time in �鶹��ý.

“I grew up in a small Somerset town called Bruton. My stepdad was the one who encouraged me to think about the bigger world out there, engaging me in debates around the dinner table, so that's how I started to think about the law.

“I had never considered university, and I had no experience that I could draw on from anyone close to me. But I visited my grandparents in Cornwall for long summers and loved going over to �鶹��ý, which is where I first heard about the uni. I felt comfortable there, which was so important for me. Moving away from home for the first time was a really big deal.”

Thriving academically, and loving her course, Lynette was inspired by 1990s TV favourites Ally McBeal and Kavanagh QC to go into criminal law. But a funny turn of events found her embark on a very different journey with a law firm in North Wales.

“In law, you apply for any and all opportunities after graduating. I’d accepted an offer of a training contract in Birmingham to start 12 months hence, but I also got an interview offer for a firm called Swayne Johnson in Denbigh – which I thought was the pottery place in Derbyshire! I thought I’d go along to interview just to see what it was about, and my now father-in-law was looking at my journey and he said, 'Lynette, you do realise you need to go to North Wales?'”

Surprising herself and getting the job ahead of 95 other applicants, she took the leap, leaving her now-husband back in Birmingham to ‘see how things went’. Thankfully they went very well indeed, and they are raising their family in North Wales as Lynette continues to excel in her career.

“Since joining the firm, I’ve grown the Private Client team from three people to 30. There are many people in my area of law who are better at it than me, but it's all about talking to clients, building those trusted relationships with them, explaining how the law affects them, and exercising strong management and business acumen with colleagues.

“I also did a leadership qualification, so when the managing director role came up, I felt I had the knowledge, skills and confidence to apply. I knew I wanted to lead any organisation that I joined, so to have realised that is something I’m really proud of.”

And she hasn’t forgotten her journey to the top – in fact, the lessons she has learned guide a lot of her everyday practices.

“In law, you have to be able to talk to anyone. One minute you’ll have a businessman asking for advice on expanding, the next you’ll have an elderly woman looking at changing her will.

“You’ve got to be able to read the room and deal with whatever is front of you. The course at �鶹��ý and the variety of opportunities I had helped to prepare me for that, and it’s a skill I really look for in others too.

“I did once have a job offer to leave and pursue a different area of law. But by growing the firm, supporting new talent into the profession and continuing to help people who need it, I know I’m in the right place. Who knew it all started around a kitchen table? And thank goodness I didn’t drive to Denby (rather than Denbigh)!”

Jack Hutton

Jack Hutton, Marine Studies, 2011

Paying it forward for the next generation

When he finished his A levels in Cornwall, Jack Hutton knew he wanted to do something marine-related – but he had no set plan.

Most of his family either had strong ties to the Royal Navy or were running their own businesses, and he naturally assumed he’d go down a similar route.

A newspaper advert that his dad spotted by chance saw him come along to an open day at the University to find out about Nautical Studies. Now, as a manager for an international company, he’s set up a scholarship for the next up and coming student.

“My GCSEs and A levels weren’t the best, but straight away I felt supported at the open day. The lecturers’ enthusiasm made me keen to apply, and my dad was really encouraging too. I left it late to source accommodation but got a place, and it dawned on me that I’d be the first in my family to go to uni.

“It was a big leap, but academically I surprised myself – I got better marks in my first assignment than I’d ever had at school.”

Enjoying the placement year in industry and vocational side of the course, Jack was able to travel during his studies and after graduating. He worked offshore as far afield as Brazil, before returning to the UK.

But when he started work for his current company, Elevate Offshore, which supplies offshore personnel worldwide, he became acutely aware of a shortage of hydrographers – who study and map bodies of water – in the industry.

Four of his colleagues, and a number of contractors, had qualifications in related disciplines from �鶹��ý and it got him thinking...

“The experiences I had at uni, from research, and analytical skill to travel and friendships, have massively helped me throughout my career. With the business doing well, we talked about offering a scholarship to pay fees for a student studying a masters in hydrography , alongside mentorship support from us. I thought the opportunity could enable someone to go and have a great time at uni and have a great career at the end of it in an industry that really needs them.”

The scholarship ran for the first time in 2024 and received some strong applications. Now he’s settled back near his Cornish roots, Jack is delighted to pay it forward.

“My time at uni and travelling seem like a distant memory now! But the memories have been incredible, I hope that someone can benefit from the scholarship and start their own story too.”

Dindu Okechukwu

Dindu Okechukwu, Psychology student and SU President

Helping everyone feel welcome, whatever their background

“The sixth of February 2022 – I’ll never forget that day. I left Nigeria and came to �鶹��ý, and the different perspectives I’ve encountered since have shaped what I do.”

With a family devoted to public service, it’s no surprise that Dindu Okechukwu is fuelled by a passion to help people. Volunteering with local youth organisations and inspired by his father, it’s perhaps more a surprise that he chose to find his calling several thousand miles away.

But since coming to �鶹��ý, he has embedded himself in the student community, and is currently working as President of the Students’ Union to tackle issues from the cost of living to mental health support. Most recently, he was invited to Downing Street as part of a contingent outlining �鶹��ý’s cultural impact. Above anything else, he wants everyone to feel welcome and feel like they belong in a university setting – whatever their background.

“I had a period of reflection aged around 20 when I thought seriously about what I wanted to do with my life. I knew helping and serving others was a big part of who I am, but I wanted to study, and I looked around at options. I thought that psychology might be a good subject as it involves working with people, but I wanted to get out of my hometown and study by the sea. Some online research showed me that �鶹��ý was highly rated, and it looked beautiful. I really wanted that experience, and I’m lucky that my family was very supportive of me moving abroad.”

Dindu started his course at the �鶹��ý International College (UPIC), becoming a student ambassador and part of the council too. He pushed out of his comfort zone battling imposter syndrome, in his own words, wondering if he was good enough to be here. But when he started the degree at the University itself, he joined two Students’ Union societies, before becoming a Psychology course rep. He then realised how much he loved advocating for people.

“In my second year of study, I saw the annual call-out for Students’ Union Sabbatical Officers – it felt like a calling.

“I had to campaign to be elected and, with cultural differences, you don’t know how you’ll be perceived. But getting to speak to students first-hand made me realise that life gives us different perspectives. What we have to do is work with them.”

Since being elected, Dindu has focused on four key student issues: cost of learning support, building communities and belonging, academic representation, and mental health and wellbeing.

“Money and wellbeing can’t be separated, if you’re low on the first, you will struggle to maintain the second. We are moving away from portfolio-based representation to faculty-based representation in response to our student feedback on academic representation and strengthening our student voice.”

As well as creating resources and signposting to support, Dindu and his fellow elected reps are keen to listen. And, as he says, it’s surprising what you find out.

“One of our fastest growing student societies is the book club – which is a big move away from what people might think.

“It’s not all about nighttime culture now, COVID and cost of living have had a huge impact on people’s everyday lives, and we find people are more introverted and in need of support to make friends and feel like they fit in. People don’t always ask for help either, you need to reach out to them – and I’m proud to be helping people feel like they belong.

“During my recent visit to No. 10 Downing Street, I was enveloped by a profound sense of reflection on my journey. A journey shaped by a deep-rooted passion for service, community, collaboration, and representation.

“Serving in the �鶹��ý Students' Union has been more than just a role; it has been a privilege and a transformative experience. One that I will cherish and archive for others to learn from, to be inspired by.”

Darcie Jones

Darcie Jones, History, 2023

Embracing working-class roots

In a taxi ride home from a senior meeting at the �鶹��ý, Darcie Jones pretended to a board member that she lived on a different estate.

She was worried that her house in a less affluent area of �鶹��ý would somehow make her less believable in her role representing students at the highest level – a feeling that she had carried with her since being elected to her role.

But that turn of events gave Darcie – a sabbatical officer in the Students’ Union – the lightbulb moment she needed to ensure that neither she, nor anyone else, would feel like they had to pretend again. Now having created the UK’s first working-class sabbatical officers’ network, she reflects on her journey as the first person in her family to go to university, and the strength that her background has brought to her position.

“Sabb officers help to improve the student experience by listening to students, and being working-class means you have a lot to bring to the role, including understanding some struggles first hand. I’m from a single parent household and had to hold down a part time job. Sometimes in higher education, there’s a bit of a ‘posh washing’ issue – where people feel like they need to get rid of regional accents and pretend to be one of the elite. Actually just by being working-class me, I’ve done and achieved a lot that I never considered from school, and it’s been great.”

Darcie didn’t know anyone who had been to university, except the teachers at her school, and she had ambitions of being a secondary teacher herself.

“I love �鶹��ý as a city and was good at history at school, so naturally the open day was the first place I went. The support offered on the course looked good and – in addition to the financial benefit of staying at home – I knew it’s what I wanted to do.”

But with COVID disrupting the start of her uni experience, she was worried about making friends and fitting in. Not coming to campus meant a lot of friendships were forged in halls – which she couldn’t do by living at home.

“It was such a weird and isolating time, as it was for so many people, but my lecturers did a huge amount to get us meeting and connecting on the course. My friends and I didn’t want to do big nights out and were happy doing our own thing, so I felt like I’d ‘found my people’. You shouldn’t feel pressured to conform to the ‘typical’ student life.”

Then the big change came when she thought about her next steps.

“I was preparing for teacher training, but dreading it. I knew I was passionate about education and making the best life I could, but decided teaching wasn’t for me.

“I then saw the sabbatical officer role advertised, but didn’t know much as I’d not really engaged a huge amount with the SU. I was going to do a gap year and earn some money, but my friend’s boyfriend had done the role and encouraged me to apply. I left it til the night before but I put my name in!”

And she was elected as VP Education. Currently in the latter stages of her maximum two-year term, she has championed students’ voices and ensured that they understand academic rules and regulations. The fateful taxi ride only further cemented her passion for advocating for others.

“My experience of sabb officers is that they can sometimes be from privileged backgrounds and like being high-level, or they can be from non-affluent backgrounds and they’re in the role because they’re passionate about being champions.

“It’s been a real journey setting up the working-class sabb network, and gives people an open space to share their experiences. There’s so much power in doing that.

As well as supporting each other, we bring in external working-class people to show the pathways you can take next – from politicians, academics, people on company boards, and even someone talking about overcoming imposter syndrome.

“So far there are over 60 of us from universities all over the UK. I don’t know what I personally want to do next, but it’ll be something that sparks my passion, involves making change, and drives something positive forward.”