"I feel like I've finally found my feet at DMU"

A strong connection to her working-class identity and a deep dive into Leicester City Football Club’s archives led Abi Broomfield to De Montfort University (DMU).

As the first generation in her family to go to university, Abi’s journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Having experienced homelessness three times and becoming disabled after a life-changing event five years ago, Abi decided life was too short not to follow her dreams.

The 31-year-old from Harlow in Essex said: “I quit my job and enrolled onto an undergraduate course. Going through difficult personal circumstances during the pandemic saw me move homes four times, eventually settling in Leicester.

“With football being bigger than religion in my family, it’s in Leicester that I started to explore how objects associated with the game can reflect a person’s identity.

“I met up with John Hutchinson, the club historian and archivist at Leicester City Football Club, who is the one who told me about DMU’s Sports History and Culture MA. I went home and applied immediately, as it sounded like a course that really related to my working-class identity.”

Four months into her MA at DMU, Abi is enjoying the flexibility of the online distance learning model, while also taking advantage of living in Leicester to visit campus and speak to her tutors face-to-face.

“I feel like I’ve finally found my feet at DMU,” she said. “It’s such a welcoming and accessible university, and I’ve really settled in.

“Distance learning works well for me due to my chronic fatigue and pain, so the flexibility of the course and having understanding tutors make a big difference, as it’s not always been my experience at other universities.”

DMU’s disability team has also played an integral role in welcoming and supporting Abi. She said: “My neurodivergence can impact my studies, but there’s lots of help on hand if and when I need it.

“The team has been brilliant, from helping me to apply for my Disabled Students’ Allowance, to sharing a floor plan of all buildings on campus so I can evacuate in case of an emergency.”

Underpinning her working-class identity is a strong sense of activism, which Abi inherited from her grandparents, who used to take her along to pension-related strikes and protests when she was growing up.

This gave Abi the confidence to start a parliamentary petition in May 2022, to make people on disability benefits eligible for the £650 one-off cost of living support package proposed by the government at the time.

“It made me really angry that we were excluded, so I started the petition on a whim,” she said. “It got approved and things sky rocketed from there.”

While Abi’s petition fell short of the necessary 100,000 signatures, it captured the attention of Labour MP Marsha de Cordova, who took it to parliament for debate nonetheless.

Following that debate, Abi was asked to give evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee on the realities of being disabled in the current climate.

She said: “I was contacted because they liked my petition. I gave evidence at Westminster and it was really eye-opening to see their reactions. Some of them were quite dismissive and it hasn’t led to any changes, but you have to keep fighting to empower others.”

Alongside her studies, Abi is currently campaigning and organising the legal action against a major UK music festival for its lack of accessibility. She is also hoping to coordinate a vigil on campus next month, in memory of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey.