Finding Purpose in the Personal: DCU’s Inspiring Graduate Stories

Elias Amro (photo: Kyran O'Brien)

From Palestine to DCU

When Palestinian student Elias Amro came to DCU, he was excited about the opportunity, but admits his mind was often back home, where violence continued to put lives at risk. “You would constantly be checking the news, making sure your parents are safe, calling your parents.”

At the start, Elias worried that the stress would negatively affect his studies. However, Elias excelled, coming top of his class with an MSc in Electronic and Computer Technology.

For his final project, he developed a sustainability-focused web platform for students, which lets them buy and sell second-hand goods more easily. The ‘Student Outlet’ project was motivated by research indicating that a third of Irish students are facing financial difficulties.

Elias is now hoping to commercialise the platform, which he estimates could prevent over 700 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, if used widely by DCU’s student population.

Childhood Nursing Dream Fulfilled

It wasn’t until she turned 50 that mature student Oonagh Grogan fulfilled her childhood dream of going to college to study nursing.

The decision to embark on DCU’s BSc in Intellectual Disability Nursing raised a few eyebrows, with some acquaintances asking her, “Why would you do that at this stage of your life?”

Just before starting the course her doctors told her she needed to have a major operation. “I was like, ‘I haven't got time for that, I'm starting college next week,” says Oonagh.

It was the first of a series of operations during her course, but she wasn’t determined to get her nursing qualification, and graduated with first-class honours.

Today, she works in a residential home for women with intellectual disabilities. “They are some of the most beautiful people in the world. They have beautiful souls,” says Oonagh.

From early school leaver to PhD

For Gillian Quinn, embarking on a PhD was a very personal matter. She wanted to explore how professional footballers and their partners cope with the transition when the player retires. As the wife of Republic of Ireland legend Niall Quinn, she knew all about the pitfalls.

“We were caught up in this whirlwind, and it had a really negative impact on our marriage and our family life,” recalls Gillian, who says many of their friends from the football world went through breakups and divorces.

Having left school at the age of 14, Gillian admits academia wasn’t always on her horizon. She and Niall married when she was 20, and they started a family soon afterwards.

But at the age of 40, she embarked on a Psychology degree from the Open University. Taking on this new challenge ultimately led to Gillian starting a PhD at DCU. Her research, based on interviews with players and their partners, is a “world first”, according to Gillian.

The cancer survivor researching her childhood illness

Avril Deegan drew on her personal experience for her PhD which researched the after-care ‘support cliff’ faced by childhood leukaemia patients and their families. “I had cancer myself when I was a child, so it was always something I was interested in,” says Avril.

For her research, she spoke to both the parents and their children, and discovered that they are largely left on their own to deal with any of the longer-term impacts, once they exit the treatment programme. “A lot of parents that I spoke to were breaking down during the interviews because it was the first time anyone had asked them how they're doing afterwards.”

Many parents had not expected how difficult it would be to return to normal work and family life when the support structure of the hospital setting was taken away.

Avril now works for the charity Childhood Cancer Ireland, where one of her main projects is developing a survivorship-type programme with resources and workshops for families.

Following a passion for food

Ellen Murphy thought she wanted to be a teacher, but was ultimately drawn to a career involving her real passion, food. “Nothing really tops Irish food,” says Ellen Murphy.

As an undergraduate languages student, she had always worked as a retail manager with the Avoca group. After graduating, she considered signing up for a HDip teaching programme but soon realised, “I miss the madness, I miss food, Irish food and drink.”

Researching her next move, she found the MSc in Insights and Innovation at DCU, a programme offered in collaboration with the Irish food board, An Bord Bia. “I thought to myself, I was made for this degree. I was made for it, and it was made for me!”

“It lets you roll your sleeves up and gets you really ready for the industry.”

Tackling Rugby as Research

Munster Rugby’s General Manager, Ian Costello, had to stand in as the team’s Head Coach on two occasions during his time researching for DCU’s Professional Doctorate in Elite Performance Sports.

The research focused on Munster’s unique player development system. The club integrates the academy for developing younger players with the senior squad’s training setup. Among the core questions he wanted to unpick was how the club should “maximise talent development, but also maximise the team's performance.”

However, he describes the challenge of having to take up the Head Coach mantle as beneficial to his process. “It was a real-time case study, research that I could immediately put into effect.”