MLA West Midlands Special Individual Adult Learners’ Week Award winner is Shelley Whitney from Stoke-on-Trent.

When Shelley (46 year old) first walked into the Wedgwood museum she was beginning to learn to cope with depression and was in the early stages of rebuilding her life after deciding to undergo gender reassignment.  Volunteering has not only helped Shelley regain her confidence and build her self-esteem but has opened up for her the possibility of pursing a new and challenging career. 

'My learning here has changed my life in that it has brought me to something that not only I love doing, but which I’m good at, and at which I will earn my living.’  Having done some work experience at Wedgwood, Shelley joined the museum as a volunteer and quickly found that she not only enjoyed it but also had an aptitude for and understanding of museum work.  Her nominator Nigel Spicer says that in moving on from basic tasks she ‘has established herself as a valued member of the team, ready to take on responsibilities’. 

Shelley believes that the support and encouragement that she has received at Wedgwood has been instrumental in helping her turn her life around.  As Shelley has said of her experience as a volunteer, ‘Far from being intimidating, it’s massively exhilarating.’ "Everything I’ve learned here, all my experiences and everything I’ve done has helped me to realise that I am not a guest in my own life, but that I can and will make it what I want it to be.  THAT is what learning means to me.  S

Shelley was nominated by Nigel Spicer of the Wedgwood Museum Trust

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