A mum of three and undergraduate law student at the University of Hertfordshire is aiming to break barriers and prove the naysayers wrong.

Stephanie Pryszlak is a 29-year-old mother who manages to take care of three children while completing an accelerated law degree, all on her own.

Stephanie was not happy with her life after finding out she had been adopted when she was 18. She had started to rebel and lacked focus until her children came along.

After the birth of her oldest daughter five years ago Stephanie started to get her life back on track and took a job at a primary school as a teaching assistant.

It was when she had her second child that she decided to go back to university to study a social work degree. She then quit when her third came along and later on decided she return to university and began a law degree.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: A lot of people in Stephanie’ life had told her she would not go far in life and she was determined to prove them wrong.A lot of people in Stephanie’ life had told her she would not go far in life and she was determined to prove them wrong. (Image: Stephanie Pryszlak)

A lot of people in Stephanie’s life had told her she would not go far in life and she was determined to prove them wrong: “To me, a law degree was one of the hardest degrees you could do, which would get me to where I wanted to be in two years, which is a big bonus and a way to say, 'look what I can do'.

“When I was younger, I would start things and I wouldn’t finish them. There has always been something that would happen or something that would come along and distract me and I would always let it get in my way and then once I had the kids, nothing could stop me. I knew I had to continue and I have to do it. Because I have to show them what they can achieve. If I keep quitting and I fail then I’m not showing them what they can do.”

“You have to keep going, you have to ignore those around you, stay in your own lane and break them with success. Sharing people’s stories as well as successes is key to uplifting morale. Some people - and I was one of them - think that because of who they are, where they are from etc, they can’t achieve greatness... but everyone has a back story, and you are your own limit.”

Stephanie found it a lot easier to manage being a mum and a student during the COVID-19 lockdown as she could stick a pair of headphones on and attend online classes while still taking care of her children. Now that in-person classes are back “a lot of my studying is done from the moment they go to bed, to the moment I go to bed. I even listen to lecture that I can do online, in my car, on the way to and from uni or while I am picking my kids up”

She also surrounds herself with a good friend, her mum and dad and supportive university staff and lecturers. “Going to uni is like a second home to me.”

“My biggest achievement sounds silly, but it is really and truly just being here and being me. I have been through things some people couldn’t even imagine and it has been an ongoing rollercoaster, but I have pushed through, and I have not let it change the person I am,” she added.

She has also planned ahead of her undergrad degree and has already been accepted for a master's degree at the University of Hertfordshire and is excited to work towards being a Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service one day.

As Stephanie multitasks, she will be celebrating International Women’s Day in a busy way as she takes her son with her to university for a law fair. “I’m hoping that his charisma might help me with some of the barristers, solicitors and companies that will be there.”