Dyslexia didn’t stop Sean achieving a first-class degree

When Sean Deakin discovered he was dyslexic during his second year at University, he used it as extra motivation to succeed with his studies.

He graduates with a first-class degree in Sport and Exercise (Sport Studies) and is due to start his MSc Criminology at Teesside.

Sean, 25, came to Teesside University through clearing after getting fed up working in a call centre and seeing his brother go on to higher education. He said: 'The clearing process was really simple – I was surprised how straight forward it actually was. It was such an amazing feeling knowing that I had been accepted onto my course.'

With ambitions to become a teacher, Sean chose to study a sports related degree knowing that it would give him a possible route into becoming a PE teacher. But during his second year, he was diagnosed as Dyslexic. Determined not to let it stand in his way, Sean worked closely with Student Services at Teesside and was given extra support and was provided with a laptop to make sure he had access to all the software he needed to complete his course.

He also excelled outside of his studies, becoming a Fitness Instructor at the University gym.

'I would never have expected doing a degree four years ago but now I am graduating with a First and am about to start an MSc,' explained Sean.

Sean is looking forward to celebrating graduation with his friends from the course and looking further ahead, would one day like to become a lecturer at Teesside University.

'I would definitely recommend my course, it had a little bit of everything and you could tailor it to your own specific interests. The opportunities Teesside have provided have been fantastic and I am so pleased that I decided to enrol on the course.'

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