Angella Callam finally achieved her dream of graduating on Monday, July 20
A North London grandmother wants to inspire her daughters and grandchildren to know ‘if you fall, you can get back up and try again’ after she gained a degree, despite dropping out of school as a teenager without any qualifications. Angella Callam, 55, from Edmonton, is a mum of four from Jamaica. She moved to London with no family and only a few relatives that were already here.
She dropped out of school after falling pregnant with her first daughter and left without any GCSEs. Now 55, she has four daughters and multiple grandchildren, and they were able to see her finally graduate; something she had dreamt about for a long time.
Angella told MyLondon: “I came from humble beginnings in Jamaica. My dad always wanted me to be a nurse, and he died a couple of years ago, so he never got to see me graduate.”
Raising four daughters, Angella would always find herself ‘starting courses’ but never ‘finishing them’. She completed a fitness instructor course in 2005, which led to a job at a gym, where she has worked as a fitness instructor for over 20 years. Yet the dream of a degree still called to her.
In 2020, during the coronavirus lockdowns, she wanted to get into higher education. That’s what led her to enrol in a Sports Therapy course at London Metropolitan University.
She added: “I wanted to know more about the science behind sports, but I always put off going back to education. When I first started the course, it was challenging.
“I had to tell myself to take small steps, take it one step at a time. There have been lots of hurdles since I first started on that course. We had a death in the family. During my exam period, we lost my son-in-law.
“I’ve been supporting my daughter and my grandchildren. There were lots of times when I felt like giving up. My partner helped me to persevere and keep going.
“Graduating is something I’ve dreamt about for a long time. My daughters are proud of me. [One of my daughters] didn’t go to university – and she said ‘I’ve inspired her’.
“My grandchildren are happy and proud of me; I can see the excitement on their faces as they know they will be there one day. I want to be an inspiration and show people that if you fall, you can get back up and try again. It doesn’t matter if you fail; you can always get back up, and that’s why I was able to graduate and walk across that stage.”
Angella graduated alongside thousands of other London Met graduates this week at the Barbican on Monday, July 20. The proud moment of graduating finally came to a head after the struggles she faced when she first started her course, and she would compare herself to other students.
She added: “I’d get the usual anxieties and compare myself to other students because they were younger and my grades weren’t always where I wanted them to be. It was such an incredible feeling to step onto that stage and accept my degree. It was thrilling! I was like yes- it’s finally happening!”
Angella celebrated her graduation with her two daughters in attendance as she made her way across the stage to pick up her degree.
Stay in the loop with the latest North London news. Sign up to our MyNorthLondon newsletter HERE for daily updates and more.
