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Mum who was forced to leave school at just 15 to have a baby graduates from university


‘I felt overwhelming love and pride from my family, and from myself, as well as my daughter’ (Picture: PA)

A young mother who had to leave school when she fell pregnant at just 14, has graduated from university with her daughter by her side.

Rachel Campey, from Cross Gates, Leeds, fulfilled a dream that she thought had been lost when she crossed the stage at Leeds Trinity University to collect her counselling psychology degree on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old said she found herself on a ‘very dark path’ in her younger years, so she was overwhelmed with happiness to be able to collect her degree with her daughter, Lily-Rose Campey by her side.

‘I saw Lily-Rose’s face as I put my gown and my cap on when I was getting ready for the ceremony, and it just made it all feel so worthwhile,’ she says.

‘I just felt a lot of completion throughout the day. I felt overwhelming love and pride from my family, and from myself, as well as my daughter.’

Rachel says she has struggled with anxiety and the stress of balancing a degree, job and the responsibilities of being a single mother for three years – but her daughter has been her inspiration.

‘If I hadn’t had Lily-Rose, I don’t think I would be here now’ (Picture: PA)

‘When I was writing my dissertation, she was doing homework at the side of me, so she gets how long a process it has been,’ she explains.

‘They accidentally pronounced my surname wrong when I went onto the stage to collect my degree, and I heard her correct them and say, “that’s my mummy”.’

The new graduate said she had had to leave her school months after she became pregnant at the age of 14, as they could not support her.

Eventually she worked her way up to going to York College and on to university from there. She wanted to get a degree in order to give her little girl the best possible future.

‘If I hadn’t had Lily-Rose, because I was struggling with my mental health, I don’t think I would be here now,’ says Rachel. ‘She changed my whole perception. I was on a very dark path before I had her, and she brightened it all up.’

Rachel faced bullying in the years before starting her degree, and at one stage she nearly dropped out of university entirely.

‘I had so many moments in first year where I didn’t think I could do it, I was walking down the hall crying my eyes out going to drop out of university, thinking, “this is such a mess, why have I put myself in this situation?”,’ she says.

Rachel fell pregnant at 14 and had to leave school at 15 to give birth (Picture: PA)

‘But the whole environment at Leeds Trinity was amazing – it was the first time I really felt supported in what I wanted to do.’

Now, Rachel wants to encourage other single parents to chase their dreams and push their own expectations for themselves.

‘If you’re a young parent and you’ve suffered with mental health issues, it doesn’t mean the end of your goals. You can still work towards them whenever you’re ready,’ she says.

‘Just because somebody says you can’t do it doesn’t mean you can’t actually do it, because you can if you really want to.’

Rachel has been nominated for the inspirational individual award at the 2020 Yorkshire Choice awards, and hopes to continue studying or become a public speaker, having earned third-class honours in her degree.

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