With the encouragement of those around her, Stacey has overcome adversity and found her calling in complementary therapies at NESCol.

Stacey Kenyon from Stonehaven had a varied learning journey and career before she decided to return to education as a mature student three years ago.

Her first College experience was before the merger, when City Campus was still part of Aberdeen College. After leaving school, Stacey decided to study social sciences, but unfortunately left the course after the unexpected loss of her gran, who she was very close with.

She then worked in dental nursing for ten years before having two children and taking on the role of stay-at-home mum. From the age of 27, Stacey was also a carer for her own mum.

Stacey’s husband was the one who encouraged her to come back to College. Having experienced some legal work related to caring for her mum, she was originally interested in studying law.

She said, “I did a complete 180 and changed my mind. I decided I didn’t want to do such a serious course and instead wanted to do something more light-hearted.”

Instead, she chose to enrol on the Beauty Therapy course.

Support at NESCol

Stacey’s learning journey was not an easy one, and she faced more grief when she returned to studying.

During the induction of her course, she had to leave suddenly when her mum was taken into hospital with terminal cancer. Stacey’s mum sadly passed away, and she questioned whether it was the right choice for her to continue her studies.

She said, “I toyed with the idea of leaving the course, but I’m glad I persevered, as it kept me going. I was fully supported by my peers and lecturers – I was lucky to have such good classmates.”

Showing true resilience, Stacey thrived at NESCol, completing the Beauty Therapy course and progressing to Advanced Beauty Therapy Techniques the following year. She then moved on to HNC Complementary Therapies.

Adult returner

Stacey had initially been apprehensive about being older than her classmates.

She said, “Returning to College as a mature student was daunting. I was worried that I wasn’t going to fit in, and the class would be full of younger people.

“It turned out to be a split of returners and younger students, and age didn’t matter – I made friends with people 20 years younger than me!”

Stacey’s classmates helped her with some aspects of education that she wasn’t familiar with.

She said, “I had never made a PowerPoint before or used Harvard referencing, but my peers and my tutors were there to help.”

Despite everything she had been through, Stacey went from strength to strength at College and achieved an A in her HNC graded unit.

She said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the HNC, especially working on the client case studies and seeing how we made a difference to them.”

However, it was the people she met at NESCol that stood out to Stacey and made her College experience so positive.

“We were a close-knit community that would help each other out, and I’ve made lifelong friends that I still speak to every day.”

Next steps

Stacey graduated from NESCol on 7 October 2025 at the Music Hall in Aberdeen. She has already started the next stage of her learning journey at UHI Moray in Elgin alongside two of her HNC classmates. The trio are studying Integrative Healthcare Science.

Stacey said, “I absolutely love it! We’re focusing more on remedial and sports massage, as well as topics like advanced reflexology and aromatherapy.

“Science has advanced and backed up how effective homoeopathic remedies can be. Sadly, I didn’t get to use any complementary therapies on my mum in palliative care, but I know there are jobs available specifically for this. It’s close to my heart knowing people are getting wonderful treatments in end-of-life care.”

Stacey has also thrown herself into her own complementary therapies business. She built a cabin in her back garden and offers clients reflexology, aromatherapy massages and cupping treatments.

Stacey plans to continue her business alongside her studies.

She said, “The course can take from one year up to three years, so I’m taking it how it comes and seeing how I get on.

“In the future, I could go down two different routes: I could either continue down the private route or work in a hospital alongside physiotherapists. For now, I’m happy to stick to my cabin and running my own business.”

Advice to students

Stacey’s advice to other students, particularly adult returners, is to have confidence in yourself and your abilities.

She said, “Never doubt yourself. You’ll be fully supported.

“It’s really encouraging to see what I’ve achieved, but it’s all down to my husband, who encouraged and supported me these past three years, my two kids, peers and lecturers who got me through.”

Study beauty and complementary therapies at NESCol

Grow your skill set and confidence in our specialist training salons, ready for a career in hair, beauty or complementary therapies.

Explore full-time and part-time courses

We also offer wellbeing and learning support and advice to all students, and our Student Support Team is on hand to help you through difficult times.

Find out more about Student Support at NESCol