Beverley Haines, part-time BA (Hons) Illustration and Design
Juggling family life and full-time work meant Beverley Haines' life-long ambition to produce children's books was proving a struggle.
But after discovering the flexibility of a part-time BA (Hons) Illustration and Design degree at Sunderland, as well as support from her tutors, the mum-of-two has never looked back.
Spread over five years, the course enabled Beverley, from North Yorkshire, to continue working part-time as a mental health therapist, care for her two children and produce work which eventually landed her a book commission with a North East museum.
She says: "I had to make some difficult decisions about returning to the classroom, my family were very supportive, but we all had to make some cutbacks. It's been hard at times, working and studying part-time, but university has been an incredible experience and I have had a lot of support from the tutors.
"I came to Sunderland wanting to know how to put a children's book together and have finished the course knowing exactly how to do just that.
"I have grown as an illustrator, learned all sorts of new technologies and my technique has changed enormously; the lectures have helped me go beyond what I thought I was capable of into a style which is much freer."
Beverley produced an illustrated educational children's book for the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Middlesbrough in July 2010 to commemorate the 240th anniversary of the voyager's encounter with a kangaroo on his first and only visit to mainland Australia.
