Graduation Tales | Return to education drives Abbi’s ambition to build an ideal life for her son

The International Convention Centre Wales in Newport has once again seen thousands of our graduates cross the stage in their cap and gown. To celebrate, we are sharing the stories of some of our inspirational students.

Abbi Smith found education challenging when she was a teenager, leaving school with no qualifications after finding it difficult to thrive in the learning environment.

Now, 15 years later, she’s about to graduate with a first-class honours degree in International Wildlife Biology from the University of South Wales (USW) and is looking forward to, hopefully, moving to New Zealand to start a new life.

Abbi’s road to a top-class university qualification has been a long one in a number of ways, particularly as she’s seen a lot more of the world than most people her age. 

“School wasn’t great for me,” said Abbi, 31, from Cardiff, who now lives in Merthyr Vale. “I broke my leg and had some health issues, and then had a few challenges with school, so stopped wanting to go. I didn't particularly enjoy learning back then.”

After leaving school and having sorted her health issues, Abbi worked for four years as a carer. Realising this wasn’t a career she wanted to pursue in the long term, she decided to take up an offer that would change her life.

“I was speaking to my cousins in Marahau, which is in Abel Tasman, the most northerly part of the South Island of New Zealand, and they suggested I go there and work in a hostel they have,” she said. “It was a quick decision, but I decided to take them up on their offer and that was where my life changed.”

The move to New Zealand proved to be a real eye-opener for Abbi, as she fell in love with the country and the lifestyle it offered. However, after a couple of years, she felt the need to spread her wings again and headed off to see other parts of the world.

“After I stayed in New Zealand for two years I then went to Australia for a year, then stayed three months in Canada, and then did a stint in Egypt,” Abbi said. “Whenever I ran out of money from travelling, I stopped and got a job.”

Having enjoyed the nomadic lifestyle for a few years, Abbi decided, however, it was time to look to the future and set her sights on a long-term plan that would allow her to settle down.

“When I was around 26 I decided it was time to come back to Britian and get the qualifications needed to settle back in New Zealand,” she said. “Without the right qualifications there was no way I was going to be able to live there.”

Having made the decision, Abbi threw herself into learning so she could get into university, taking the courses needed to guarantee a place. It was then that she faced another challenge.

“I’d had endometriosis, and when I went into surgery for the condition I was told I’d need to have a baby within a year or it might not happen,” she said.

“So I became pregnant while still studying, and then the baby arrived three months before I did my exams. Thankfully I had enough support around me to get through and got my place at USW, starting when my son has just turned one.”

So now with a degree under her belt, and plans to continue in education, Abbi is getting closer to her ultimate goal of raising her son in New Zealand.

“Ever since I stayed there for a few years I knew it was the place where I want to bring up a child,” she said.

“While in New Zealand I knew a lady who had two young children, and their lifestyle was to come home from school and to go surfing or paddle boarding ,or they'd be out rock climbing and in nature.  Over here the kids go home and play on the Xbox. I wanted to get a lot closer to nature and have a better lifestyle for my son.”

The course at USW also allowed Abbi to follow her passions – animals and conservation.

“I’ve always wanted to work with animals. When I was younger, I wanted to be a vet,” Abbi said.

“But when I went traveling, I realised just how wonderful the world is, and also realised how it was going downhill fast. I wanted to do something within conservation to help the animals that are suffering from our input to the planet.

“Also, because of my little boy, it was a case of realising that something has to be done soon. I'm not saying I can fix it all myself, but there will be a chance that, when he's older, he won't get to see that animals I've seen, they'll all be extinct, and I don’t want that.”