May 2024
Arlinta's Story
By Arlinta Kotsaki
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Arlinta Kotsaki
It's all adding up
Arlinta had almost given up on her dream to work in a mathematical field – until she moved from her home country of Greece to the UK five years ago.
It was 15 years after leaving high school that she came to Birmingham to visit a friend, fell in love and never went home.
Starting a family, life was good, but Arlinta still had a burning desire to become a ‘numbers’ professional working high up in the field.
“I did lots of research into how to make it work, especially as I now had a two-year-old son,” she said.
“What I loved most about this university was that it was very close to my home and offered lots of support.
“I use the University’s academic skills centre to improve my grades and lecturers record our lessons so I can watch them again and again with subtitles, which has really improved my English and confidence.”
Using her Kick-Start money to buy a laptop and extra software training, Arlinta now has her sights firmly on becoming a company finance director.
“Nothing can stop me now,” she said. “I definitely made the right choice.”