Dean won’t let his disability get in the way of his dream

An ambitious student has been inspired to one day start his own business after getting involved in a University mentoring scheme.

Dean Chaffer, a final year BA (Hons) Creative Digital Media student, has benefited from Diversi-tees, a scheme which aims to enhance the career prospects of those who may be at a disadvantage in the graduate employment market – such as disabled or mature students.

Dean, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, a condition that affects movement, posture and co-ordination, has been receiving support and advice from Julie Chapman, a Marketing Officer at the University, and is determined to make a success of his career.

He said: ‘I got involved with the Diversi-tees scheme because I thought it would be a good opportunity to start looking at how organisations work and how web teams are structured. My Mentor, Julie Chapman, has lots of experience and we have been talking about different things relating to the industry and how to present yourself in a professional environment.

‘It’s been a really good experience and great to get a different perspective on things, finding out how a web team operates within a marketing department.

‘My future plans are to get a job in the web industry when I leave University, but further down the line I would like to set up my own business in web design. Obviously you can’t do that without experience and contacts, but having my own business one day is my ambition and the Diversi-tees scheme has definitely helped me to focus and has built my confidence.’

Sharing knowledge As a mentor, Julie listened to Dean’s ambitions and interests and used her role within the University to pass on, not only her own knowledge, but the knowledge of her colleagues.

She said: ‘Dean is very interested in working in a web environment and what I have been able to do is give him the opportunity to engage with the University’s web team and find out how they work and function on a daily basis.

‘I have also been able to give Dean an insight into how I work with clients - I know he is keen to set up his own business so I have given him some examples of my experience of working with different clients, including academics, businesses and students.’

Dean originally chose to study BA (Hons) Creative Digital Media because he saw how quickly the internet was developing and thought it would be a great industry to get in to.

Reflecting on his course he said: ‘It has been a really positive experience studying at Teesside – there has been a lot of help and assistance available and the course has been brilliant – teaching me all the skills that I would need in industry.’

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