We love it when Oxbridge graduates know what they want and are determined to make it happen. That was the case for Tavis King, who turned his passion for education into a winning formula as a qualified councillor.
Celebrating success is important at Oxbridge. We care deeply about the accomplishments of our alumni, and believe their achievements can help inspire others to take the next step in their career journey.
Success Stories is all about sharing the aspirations, ambitions and accomplishments of our graduates. We want to show you education in action, with real students who have benefitted from quality tuition and our unique approach to distance learning.
Here, Tavis, a former Oxbridge student with an unbridled passion for education and helping others, tells us more about his experience of attaining the Diploma in Advanced Counselling Skills with Oxbridge.
Who They Are
My name is Tavis King. I’m 37 years old guy originally from the United States. I enrolled on the Diploma in Advanced Counselling Skills with Oxbridge in 2019, completing it 6 months later.
As an immigrant to the UK, I’ve learned that to get what you want in this world, you have to pave your own way. That’s why I’ve put my all into education, gaining enough qualifications to land my dream role.
It wasn’t just a love for learning that had me hopping between universities. It was because every time I completed a course or degree, I was told again and again that I didn’t have enough qualifications to land the job I wanted.
During my studies, I established a private tutoring business to fund my journey. This, however, ended up becoming a full-time job that I loved. I realised then that maybe teaching psychology was my true calling?
What They Wanted
Out of the blue, a realisation hit me: such a career was vying for my attention all along, and there was a more straightforward route to it than I first thought. I’d always embraced the role of helping others, so it only seemed right to create my own private practice for counselling.
Finding the right course to get me there wasn’t straightforward. There were a few catches, so I had to search long and hard to find a college that met my needs…
I knew I needed a distance learning course to fit around my work for Surrey Adult Learning and my private tutoring business. It had to fit around my PhD studies (at Brunel University), and, it had to be a recognised qualification with professional, nationally-recognised accreditation. I searched all over – and then I found Oxbridge.
How We Helped
What I loved most about studying with Oxbridge is that they gave me the opportunity to turn precious free time into learning. The flexibility of distance learning allowed me to make time for myself, on my own terms, and around my students whose terms my time often relied upon.
Some might argue that an online platform is inappropriate for a counselling course when so much of counselling is tied to face-to-face communication. Well, I’d say they’re wrong – mainly because Oxbridge proved to me that distance learning involves a huge amount of human perception, judgement, feedback and mentoring.
This course taught me how to use helping skills to support clients so they could identify their own problems and conflicts. I'm now able to help clients determine their own solutions, test them, and evaluate how helpful those solutions were for resolving their problems. What can I say? The course did what it said on the tin!
I have admiration for Oxbridge because they’re doing it right. After my students complete their taster courses with me, I then signpost them to Oxbridge as a progression route, so they can qualify in the Advanced Counselling Skills Diploma course.
Are you inspired? Would you like to follow in Tavis’ footsteps and start your learning journey towards a new you? Visit the homepage to access our full range of distance learning courses or give us a call to speak with one of our experienced course advisers on 0121 630 3000. They’ll help you find your way.