Class of 2025: Susie Fowler-Watt

For well-known BBC newsreader Susie Fowler-Watt, returning to education as a mature student was a daunting experience, but a passion for hearing people’s stories means she’s not only graduating with an MA Psychodynamic Counselling, but she’s also embarked on a Professional Doctorate.

Susie, originally from Sussex, has lived in East Anglia since the 1990s when she first started working for BBC Look East. Today, she’s one of the show’s best-known newsreaders.

She decided to return to university because of a long-held interest and belief in the positive power of counselling.

“I had wanted to train as a counsellor since my undergraduate days decades ago, but life got in the way. I really believe in the psychodynamic approach, and I felt the course would not just lead to a qualification to practice but would be fascinating in its own right,” she explained.

At 50, she found she was in a position to juggle family, work and study commitments. The mum-of-two chose Essex for “the quality of the course, the reputation of the department and the location.”

Speaking about the experience, she said: “Becoming a student again at my age has been nothing short of wonderful. I have appreciated learning in a way I didn’t when I was younger.

“I have also loved meeting like-minded people from different age groups and backgrounds. It has been such a stimulating experience.”

Susie admits that balancing work and study has been a challenge, so much so that she took one year out to focus on her BBC role. She credits her manager, her teenage daughter and PhD supervisor for helping her succeed.

“The juggling has been fast and furious. My BBC boss has been hugely supportive and I have just had to be very disciplined.

“I had to intermit after my first year and I did have a wobble just before restarting. My teenage daughter was the one who persuaded me to carry on. She could tell just how passionate I was about it and said I would regret it if I didn’t continue.

“At Essex, Professor Sue Kegerreis has been a source of constant inspiration. She is the most perceptive person I have ever met - nothing gets past Sue - as well as being a superb teacher and communicator.”

Inspired by her childhood growing up in a boarding school run by her parents, Susie is now researching the impact boarding schools have on the staff who work in them, in loco parentis, for her Professional Doctorate.

She is also working as a counsellor for adults in schools alongside her BBC job.

“They sound like very different careers, but they both stem from a fascination with people and what makes them tick,” she said.

She hopes her experience can inspire other potential mature students: “It has been such a welcoming return to education for me - I have felt very supported as a postgraduate. My advice would be - go for it, as it will open up your life in ways you can’t imagine.”