A new Edinburgh Napier University graduate has described how studying helped him find the confidence to control his stammer – which previously left him unable to speak.
After working as an offshore electrical technician in the oil and gas sector, Lee Sturrock decided that studying at ENU would provide him the opportunity to progress his career.
At the same time, the 28-year-old from Arbroath resolved to address his stammer, having been reliant on typing notes on his phone to communicate. During his studies, he undertook speech therapy and grew in confidence, becoming the class representative for his cohort in an effort to challenge himself.
As part of the course, Lee also secured an internship in Canada last summer, spending three months working in electrical engineering. As part of his time in Toronto with construction firm Black & McDonald, Lee worked on data centres, a subway station and an electric vehicle battery factory.
Now Lee is celebrating how far he has come, after graduating with a BEng in Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall.
Lee said: “I have a huge feeling of personal accomplishment. If you told me at the start that this is what I’d achieve, I wouldn’t have believed it.
“Before I took my speech therapy course, I said everything through my phone. I would use the notes app and type it all out – with work, even family members. I genuinely couldn't get a word out.
“I’ve done a lot of scary things in my career offshore. I’ve been on so many helicopters jumped into a speedboat, been hauled off the side of a ship and worked with high voltage.
“Hand on heart, for me, stopping a stranger for directions or asking where the bananas are in Tesco was scarier.
“When I applied for university, I knew that addressing my stammer would be part of it. I got my offer through while I was working on a boat in the South China Sea, and I realised there that this next chapter would be about the degree and my speech.
“I enrolled on something called the McGuire Programme, which helped me understand breathing techniques and ways I could manage to speak. It also taught me a lot about attitude and self-acceptance.
“It’s been a story of perseverance. When I started the degree it was difficult, but I kept going and soon saw results. For both the speech therapy and university, my work ethic pulled me through.
“All these things have grown my confidence. I have become everything I wanted to be during my four years at Edinburgh Napier.”
Lee says the work he has done at ENU has helped him to compete for excellent jobs in the sector, taking his career to the next level.
He has paid particular thanks to his lecturers for supporting him on his journey to graduation.
“I did an HNC as part of my apprenticeship but hadn’t studied at all for four years before I started my degree.
“It seemed like the next progression. I really got into projects aspect of what I was doing before but there wasn't an opportunity to progress.
“Engineering is a tough degree, but the department was really good. The lecturers were phenomenal – you can tell they have worked in the industry before and not just academia.
“That’s so good from a student’s perspective because they are so practical and pragmatic.”
Lee graduated alongside fellow students from Edinburgh Napier University’s School of Computing, Engineering & the Built Environment.
ENU’s summer graduation ceremonies are being held at the Usher Hall between 8-10 July.