A not so typical story of a failing student...

Reflecting on another great event at the Startup Awards North East this week, I wanted to share the story that I shared on the day of the awards to all of the great founders, leaders, friends and family who attended.

It was a story about a student called Max. Max was one of your typical university students, full of life and ready for one of the best experiences of their lives! Due to a lack of direction and purpose in Max's degree, they began to burn the candle at both ends...one of which shone considerably brighter than the other! You can probably guess which that was...

Ultimately it all got too much for young Max and they gave up and dropped out of university.

Max unfortunately is a prime example of a modern day student and an example of what students and university staff alike face and are familiar with. Lacking motivation, overwhelmed with stress and struggling with their #metalhealth Currently around 10% of all students who enter the system with big dreams, either drop out or leave university without a #degree. Given that there are 2.8 million students in #highereducation in the UK, that equates to nearly 300,000!

Our aim is to transform this trend and create an environment where #mentalwellbeing and #personalgrowth are foundational. This achieved by providing students with carefully created planners that help them to unlock their full potential, giving them that extra few percent that can be the difference between a 2:1 and a first.

This however, is where the story of Max actually took a slight twist. I used Max as an example of a typical student, however the Max I was talking about, actually didn't drop out. In fact the student wasn't called Max at all. They were actually called Nathan...And I was so close to being yet another number and following that same path, however at my lowest point, barely scraping a pass, feeling lost and demotivated, I discovered personal growth and the power of #planning.

It was at this point that things changed drastically for me. Through creating my own planning techniques and curating some of the best personal growth techniques out there through many hours of research and application, I created my own system and transformed my whole student experience. This in the space of three years transformed me from that failing student getting a concession to progress to the next year, to leaving university with a first. Unintentionally, the very first Semester Student Planner was born!

Since then I have continued a steep development curve in my career, constantly stepping outside of my comfort zone and creating opportunities to keep going to the next level.

However, my greatest achievement to date now, is creating Semester Student Planner and Growth Planner Co. to give this power back to others. Myself and my co-founder Joe Hilton are committed to helping others on their own journey through our planners, but also many other exciting and ground breaking ideas that we have in the future.

#University does a great job in providing students with the theoretical knowledge they need to succeed in their professional life, however, the student experience needs a shake up and we are here to support any university who is ready for this innovation.

We have some amazing partners already like Teesside University , Teesside University International Business School , Middlesbrough Council and many more. However, it is now time for more universities and higher education institutions to adopt a student first approach with mental wellbeing and personal growth at the foundation of it all. Our mission is to improve student wellbeing and give them the tools they need for future employment, and hopefully we can find more partners who will join us on this journey of revolutionising the #student experience.