My name is Samantha Ash. I am a 24 year old blind lady from the Isle of Man. My dream is to become a Neuro-Psychologist and work with people who have suffered brain injuries.

I have been in mainstream education until I went to the Royal National College for the Blind which was partly funded by the Isle of Man Government at the age of 18. I had to fight, to get there
as the government, at first, refused me the opportunity to enhance my independent living skills. Whilst at RNC, I was diagnosed as having epilepsy. This meant that I left without any job prospects. for the last three years, I have been working on an Open University course, BSC Psychology and Counselling at home which has meant that my independent living skills have lapsed. Also, I feel isolated as I have had to study alone; the diagrams and other course material are sometimes in the incorrect format; and I had trouble contacting my course lecturers for support

Despite this, I have received an unconditional offer onto a BSC (hons) course in neuropsychology degree at the University of Central Lancashire, (UCLan). I am pleased to inform you all that I have managed to find the money for my tuition fees, however, the isle of Man won't cover my disabled student allowance, as they say I am not able to get a student award, due to studying at the OU. Now, I'm left with the shortfall of finding money for my living expenses . I thank you for all the donations so far. If you'd still like to donate to the page, you can do so if you wish.

I feel studying in the UK would give me a better chance of gaining work experience, as well as developing my independent living skills, confidence, and will allow me to contribute to society. I do not wish to be a statistic. I wish to be a contributing member of society.

Thank you all for reading. Please feel free to listen to the following EP. It is of me singing. I hope you enjoy. https://soundcloud.com/samantha-jade-ash-1/sets/dreams-in-darkness-ep