Governor Profile - Vivien White

Meet Vivien White

I am a newly appointed Governor of your College.  I started on 1 April 2008 (an appropriate day) and, if I have enough stamina, finish on 31 March 2012.

I was born in Yorkshire, near Halifax, where I undertook my primary and secondary education.  I then left Yorkshire to attend Portsmouth College of Education and became a Junior School Teacher.  At the age of 25 I found myself married, living in Anglesey with two children under three.  On Anglesey I ran a Playgroup, helped to set up Holyhead Citizens Advice Bureau and attended evening classes to learn Welsh (not a success but at least I tried).

My husband applied for a foreign secondment so we spent 18 months in Libya.  I found the whole experience fascinating – a very foreign country with very close community living.  We all lived together behind a 12 foot wall in identical flats, with identical furniture and identical cars.  It was a bit like Castaway or Lost.  Without TV, radio, newspapers and alcohol we had to make our own entertainment.  Often this included some aspect of education - learning new skills (I went to classes for painting) or doing something in a group (I set up a reading group and produced a pantomime). 

When we returned to England we moved to Macclesfield where I worked in the Citizens Advice Bureau as a paid official.  I went to college and took part-time classes in Bridge and basic typing (one for pleasure and one for work).  I also undertook voluntary work - cooking fresh and wholesome meals for pensioners twice a month (they really preferred fast food, no-one had heard of Jamie Oliver then), running bingo sessions and teaching a Vietnamese family English. 

Finally we moved to Lancaster – only for 4 years, just passing through!  I decided that instead of doing a refresher teaching course I ought to acquire moveable skills, so I came to Lancaster and Morecambe College to do a TOPS Course – typing, shorthand, bookkeeping (all from scratch in 5 months).  I passed the Course which was very hard work, didn’t move and worked for 20 years in the NHS.  Whilst working for the NHS I attended this College many times, to do RSA III Typing (I was really proud to pass this), a Clait course, an NVQ 4 in Management and various fun courses such as Italian and Access.

I am now retired, my husband is working a few hours a week and my children are grown up and live away.  I was looking for something to do and a friend suggested applying to be a Governor of the College.  I thought about it and realised that over the years I have made good use of the College.  It gave me my career and helped me improve whilst still working.   Education can change your life and can be life-long.  You can dip in and out of it and it can offer something for everyone.  I represent the ordinary person on the Corporation; brave enough to ask questions if I don’t understand anything and apply common sense to the proceedings.