NEW LIFE:From equine science to running a college – Lauren Dolan's career has meant big change, writes LORNA SIGGINS.
WHISPER “managing director” in Lauren Dolan’s ear five years ago, and the former veterinary nurse might have thought you were giving her a tip for the track. Yet a fairly radical career change has placed her in charge of a project which may also inspire others to fulfil long held ambitions.
Mind you, “radical” is not an adjective that the 30 year old might choose to describe the change in her career – even if it did involve a 180-degree turn.
From Dublin originally, her family moved to Galway when she was 13. She had a passion for horses from early on, and it seemed only natural that she would apply to study equine science upon leaving school.
The four-year degree in University of Limerick (UL) was largely science-based, but there was one business dimension to the curriculum which would prove vital later on. During the course, she took a year out, with classmates, to work in the industry – and in no better place than Kentucky, in the US, to boot, where she developed invaluable skills in veterinary nursing.
“I was based in an equine hospital, and that’s where you could solidify all the stuff you learned in class, be it anatomy, physiology, pharmaceuticals and all that. Working in the industry at that level was terrific, and it was wonderful to be away. I returned then to complete my final year at college.”
On graduating with her BSc, Dolan landed a job as veterinary nurse at one of the State’s top stud farms, at Coolmore in Co Tipperary. “I was assigned to what they call the hospital barn, where females in foal and sick horses were kept, and I lived in a house close by.
“It was like working as a nurse, but with very little time off. You had one leave day every fortnight, and there would be many late evenings. It goes with the territory, though. Working in the equine sector is a vocation
“It also involved a fair amount of travel,” she says, describing how she would accompany horses trained at Coolmore by Aidan O’Brien to hospital in Kildare. “There were a lot of rewards, in terms of good pay and accommodation provided. However, it is physically demanding, you need a lot of energy and commitment, and it is quite male-dominated.”
She was to discover the level of that latter factor when she became pregnant, over five years ago. “I knew I would have to make a change.”
She was now no longer regarded as one of the lads, able to pull her weight physically with the best of them, although she continued to work until she had just a few months to go.
“And then when I had my little girl, Alex, I realised I loved being at home with her, which is something no one can explain to you beforehand,” she says. “For the first two-and-a-half years, that’s what I did, and I was still with Alex’s dad at that point.”
The couple moved back to Dolan’s home patch in Galway in 2004, and eventually went their separate ways. “Most of my friends didn’t have children, and I found that I had lost confidence, which was a bit of an obstacle when it came to looking at work options.
“I decided to put Alex in a creche two mornings a week when I knew she was ready for some company of her own age, and I replied to an advertisement for a personal assistant,” she recalls. This was where her third-year module at college kicked in. “I knew I had all the necessary skills and more, having studied accounting, marketing and general business practice as part of the UL course.”
She was offered the post, and found it terrific in terms of restoring her confidence in her abilities. “At this stage, my father had been instructing in information technology skills, specifically the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL). He had also founded several very successful internet cafes in Galway, which really took off due to the volume of migrants in the city. So I took over the ECDL training and decided to try and buy out his college, which specialised in this.
“It was either that or return to college and retrain in something else, and I felt it was an opportunity that I wouldn’t get again,” she says.
She secured a new premises in Lombard Street, Galway, and began restructuring the company to provide a broad range of courses.
“It was very hard work, as it was like starting the business from scratch in a sense. I decided to register with Fás and apply for Fetac accreditation. It took 18 months, and for much of that time there were just two of us on the staff,”she says.
HiTec Education Centre, as the college is called, now employs several part-time teachers and has over 100 students.
“I made a massive loss in the first year, and in this past year we have made a profit! Alex is now in senior infants; I pick her up from school and try to structure my hours to ensure I am with her as much as possible.”
As if responsibility for one company wasn’t enough, Dolan has also established a separate entity, called Solas, to facilitate use of the premises for other groups, after hours. Solas administers use of the Lombard Street space for workshops and courses run by a range of organisations, such as Galway Early Music and other groups.
“We have a sliding scale of rates, depending on the nature of each group,” she says. “Some are voluntary, such as a group of parents keen to start a Steiner school, and a group of Russian parents who run cultural activities for their children.
“I see it as part of the college’s ethos,” she says. “Even though we are privately-run, I would like it to have a particular community focus, and we are based in the heart of Galway, right next to St Nicholas’s church and the market. And while Galway has a reputation for being a place with lots going on, it is still a city where people can get a bit lost.
“Fás registration for HiTec means we can provide training for a range of income groups, and I would like to reach out to help people who need the sort of assistance that I benefited from at a difficult time.
“We have an open-door policy, past students can drop in for a cup of coffee, and we hope to be there to encourage and motivate people. If I can help someone to take that first step towards making a change, it is all worthwhile. It only has to be a baby step at that.”