Joe, who is the first-generation graduate in his family, was attracted to the University of Sunderland after visiting on an Open Day. 

He said: “Sunderland is a fairly local university to me, and I really liked the atmosphere from both staff and students.” 

After failing his A-levels, Joe considers his biggest achievement to date graduating with a first-class honours degree.  

He is grateful to Dr Becci Owens for giving him the confidence in his ability to learn.  

“Dr Becci Owens led many of my classes. Not only did she teach me the basics of Psychology, but she also gave me the confidence in my ability to learn,” he said. “Three years later, she became my dissertation supervisor.”  

For Joe, adjusting to his job at Barclays has been one of his biggest challenges to date.  

He explained: “My role at Barclaycard is to provide customers who contact us with a final response on behalf of the bank. I need to investigate a variety of cases raised with us like fraud, merchant disputes, complaints, etc, and pro-actively contact customers with a response and make the necessary financial adjustments where possible.” 

He concluded: “I do not plan to be in this job forever, however, I am currently undergoing an application to become a colleague champion for mental health. I explained to my senior managers that I wish to use my personal development time promoting positive wellbeing using the skills the University of Sunderland taught me.”