Family joins forces

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Karen Harris receiving her award from Luke Jamieson’s mother, Rose.

A Middleton woman and her stepson are getting ready to start the same college course in September.

Mature student Karen Harris, 31, always dreamed of becoming a police officer so, last year she went back to college to pursue her dreams.

Ms Harris of Langley enrolled on a Level 2 Uniformed Public Services last September and has just completed her first year, ‘passing out’ at a ceremony held at the College in July.

Her stepson Alex Harris, 16, also shares the same dream as his stepmum wanting to become a police officer too. 

So he will be joining her in September on exactly the same course – the Level 3 Diploma in Uniformed Public Services.

Once they have finished their course, Mr Harris hopes to go straight into police training and his stepmum has decided that she wants to go to university first and then perhaps enter the police or train as a teacher of Uniformed Public Services.

Not only has Ms Harris successfully returned to education and passed her exams, she has also made a fantastic contribution to life at the College; she is a Class Rep, a Course Rep, Student Governor and has recently been made Chair of College’s new Student Leadership Team.

As Student Governor, Ms Harris attends lots of meetings, acting as a voice for learners, and airing their problems and views to the management team.

“I take the students’ issues to the main people and do my best to work with the managers to solve them. For example, I just secured some money for lockers that many students on UPS had been asking for,” she said.

When asked why she got involved, Ms Harris said: “Mainly to help out the other students; because I am older, I am more able to articulate their views. Many 16 year olds don’t know how to say want they want and how to go to staff with their views.”

At the recent ‘Passing out Ceremony’ Ms Harris was given the ‘Spirit Award’.

This award has been handed out to one student each year in memory of former Hopwood student Luke Jamieson, who was in the First Royal Green Jackets, was sadly killed when he was just a teenager while on duty in 2004.