Gemma Gregor
Gemma McGregor was a young single parent struggling with mental health issues when she started studying Beauty Therapy at UHI Inverness. Now the manager of an award-winning spa, the 34-year-old believes studying at UHI Inverness allowed her to create a better life for her and her family.
Gemma said: “I battled heavily with my mental health and during a support group I attended I had the amazing opportunity to carry out a full make-up routine on someone who was also battling with depression. Her confidence from this lit up an entire room of people. She shone, and in a matter of seconds she became this happy and confident person that I had never met before. I realised in that moment that this was the career I wanted to pursue. It made me happy being able to give that gift to another person.”
Jodie Mullery
Jodie (34) from Avoch was a stay-at-home mum of three small boys when she decided to study at UHI Inverness after the death of her partner. She studied Hairdressing before progressing onto HNC Fashion Make-up.
She is now building up her own small make-up and hair business and showing her sons that hard work and determination pay off.
Jodie said: “I always felt respected and was encouraged by my lecturers to keep going when times were hard or when I didn’t believe in myself. I never would have been able to do it without them. Realising I was capable and had the ability to be a hairdresser and a make-up artist was just the best feeling.”