Graduate
Stories
Red
Phoenix
Lands at QMU
Terrie Howey –
BA (Hons) Drama and Theatre Arts, 2007
A
PHOENIX IS A mythological bird with a
colourful plumage which renews itself
from its own ashes. This colourful
metaphor has come to mean a lot to QMU
graduate, Terrie Howey. From the age of four,
she wanted to be a storyteller, and after gaining
a QMU degree as a mature student, she has
achieved her goal. She is now ‘Red Phoenix’,
a successful and award winning storyteller,
delivering storytelling workshops to schools
and community groups.
Terrie recently won the Winston Churchill
Travelling Fellowship which has seen her tour
America and Canada. We talked to her about her
experience of QMU and her struggle with dyslexia.
What’s your favourite memory of QMU?
I remember my first day, meeting all the students
from the different years and gathering in that space
- the amount of excitement and enthusiasm in that
room was electric. That excitement lasted for the
next four years! You get an experience in your
studies that you definitely don’t get out in the real
world. In the real world you have to be right the first
time, whereas university gives us a great space for
making mistakes and learning from them.
How was the experience of winning the Winston
Churchill Award?
It was fantastic. I had an interview at Westminster
in front of a panel of four people. They asked me
“what is storytelling?” I have no idea what I said! It
just goes to show what enthusiasm, passion and a
solid background knowledge of your subject can
do in the right situation.
Have you got any up and coming projects?
I’ve always got a thousand and one projects! I’m
thinking of writing or co-writing a book, which is
something I’ve never done. I wouldn’t have been
in a position to do it had it not been for QMU.
I only found out I was severely dyslexic when I
was at University. The Effective Learning Service
arranged a test and I discovered that I was indeed
very dyslexic.
How did The Effective Learning Service help
you?
It changed my life. Up until that point I had just felt
stupid and I didn’t understand the world. Suddenly
somebody was able to give me a reason why I
had felt like that. They also gave me the tools to
overcome it. That was revolutionary to me. To this
day, I still use the software that I was given as part
of that assistance. I don’t think I would have been
able to continue my degree if they hadn’t detected
the dyslexia. I don’t believe I would be able to run
my own business without the knowledge, tools
and techniques they provided. They helped me
learn to cope with the condition and to find my
own way of dealing with it.
QMU was an amazing place to learn. I don’t
think that I would have got the support, the
understanding and the specialised learning in any
other place. ❒
Sharing your experience with QMU
Terrie returned to QMU to meet and share her
expertise with some of our current students. If
you think you have some valuable experiences
to pass on to our students, please get in touch
about giving a guest lecture or becoming a career
mentor. E: [email protected].
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QMYOU / Graduate News