Stella’s story

With the help of her Support Worker, former customer Stella is now pursuing her dream of studying at university.

Stella is now studying accountancy at the University of Bedfordshire.

I first came to Look Ahead in 2015. I’d been at college studying health and social care but I wasn’t sure it was what I wanted to do so I left. I’d become estranged from my parents and was working with social workers to help find me somewhere else to live. They allocated me a place to live and I moved into a service for young people in Barking and Dagenham.

I remember that my first impression of the service was that it was nice and welcoming. I liked the environment and I was impressed by the way it looked.

I had a great Support Worker there who was always there to help whenever I needed him. In some ways, he was like a father figure to me. He helped me decide what I wanted to do with my life and supported me with my university application.

Stella is studying hard to achieve her degree.

“My time there prepared me to move on; I was able to learn the skills I need to live on my own”

Look Ahead made a very big difference to me; it gave me an opportunity to live with young people from different backgrounds and see different aspects of life.  My time there prepared me to move on; I was able to learn the skills I need to live on my own.

In September, I moved out of the service and into university accommodation to start my degree in Accountancy at the University of Bedfordshire.

My goal for the future is to complete university and to achieve my degree at the highest possible grade. After I graduate, I want to have a stable job as an accountant and probably have my own accounting firm one day.