Never too late – Liz Waters’ Gastronomy Triumph aged 75
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Phibsboro resident Liz Waters was walking through the TU Dublin’s Grangegorman Campus and was so impressed with the facilities she tentatively enquired about studying. At 75, she was due to retire from her CEO position in a Community Education Organisation and was wondering what was next for her.
After some research, she discovered TU Dublin’s MA in Gastronomy and Food Studies – an area she’d long dreamed about studying on her long commutes, as she loves cooking and history. After some encouragement from the programme chair, Martín Mac Con Iomaire, she tentatively began. Her first class was a gastronomic walk around Dublin, blending tales of food and history, and a new passion was born.
Speaking about her experiences at TU Dublin, Liz wonders why she was ever worried about being an older student- from the porters to the library and admin staff, she was treated with the utmost respect.
I have to say the tutors’ patience was incredible and it really allowed me to learn the way that best suited me
Liz’s classmates have become her lifelong friends and they are in constant contact.
Liz was one of many Graduates at TU Dublin’s ceremony in March, albeit the oldest at 75. She said:
The Masters in Gastronomy and Food Studies is breaking new ground and is so important to our Irish and food history. It has been the most amazing experience of my life – it is never too late to come back to education
While Liz might be one of the more ‘mature’ of the mature students on campus, she is by no means the only one who began studying later in life. Last year, TU Dublin saw 322 CAO entrants who entered on the basis of Mature Entry along with those who had just sat the Leaving Certificate, embracing the University’s ethos of lifelong learning.
TU Dublin Programme Chair and lecturer Mairtin Mac Con Iomaire said:
Elizabeth Waters is a wonderful example of life-long learning. One of the strengths of the MA Gastronomy and Food Studies is the diversity of students from different ages, backgrounds, cultures and both professional and academic backgrounds that can bring their lived experience to the class to interrogate and explore different readings of texts and real-life phenomena. Students learn as much from each other as from us, since intergenerational and intercultural learning is core to the programme’s vision I’m delighted to see Liz graduate, and to hear of her plans to continue her studies even further, showing it’s never too late to follow your passions
The MA in Gastronomy and Food Studies is the first master’s programme in Ireland to offer graduates a solid underpinning in the three pillars of Gastronomy & Food Studies: History, Society, and Practice. The programme is based around philosophy of generous curiosity, conviviality, and critical thinking.
For more information see Gastronomy & Food Studies / Ghastranamaíocht ┐Staidéar Bia | TU Dublin