A MUM who had to leave school when she became pregnant at 15 has graduated from university.
Rachael Campey, now 21, held her six-year-old daughter Lily-Rose’s hand as she collected her counselling psychology degree at Leeds Trinity University.
Rachael Campey graduated from Leeds Trinity University alongside her six-year-old daughterCredit: PA:Press Association
Rachael says her daughter’s face ‘made it all worthwhile’Credit: PA:Press Association
Rachael, of Leeds, who battled anxiety as she studied while working, said her daughter’s face as she got ready “made it all worthwhile”.
She said: “I just felt a lot of completion throughout the day.
“I felt overwhelming love and pride from my family, and from myself, as well as my daughter.”
Rachael said daughter Lily-Rose was “smiling all day long”.
She added: “When I was writing my dissertation, she was doing homework at the side of me, so she gets how long a process it has been.
“They accidentally pronounced my surname wrong when I went onto the stage to collect my degree, and I heard her correct them and say ‘that’s my mummy’.”
She is now up for a 2020 Yorkshire Choice award for her achievement.
Rachael had to leave school at 15 after becoming pregnantCredit: PA:Press Association