Remembering Alumna Sheila Shaw: A Tribute
Alumna Danuta Brooke pays tribute to her dear friend and fellow School of Law alumna, Sheila Shaw, who sadly passed away on 17 August, 2024.
The School of Law at the University of Leeds can be rightly proud of the fact that it educated a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Yet there are other, far less well-known students of which it can also be proud. One of these was my good friend Sheila Shaw, who very sadly passed away on 17 August this year.
Those other Law students who graduated with Sheila in 2008 will remember the great cheer which erupted in the hall when her name was called out at graduation. For anyone who came across Sheila both liked and respected her. She was remarkable for many reasons, two of which especially endeared her to everyone. Firstly, she was relentlessly cheerful and smiling and secondly, despite the physical differences she was born with, she lived her life to the full – including achieving an LLB with Honours at her beloved University of Leeds.
I use the word ‘differences’ because Sheila never considered herself as ‘disabled’. Yes, she walked with a gait that was sometimes unsteady and more slowly than others; yes, her speech was slower and somewhat less clear; and yes, her lack of dexterity caused her to write more slowly than others. Yet Sheila never let any of this prevent her from enjoying a full life. Born in Glasgow in 1943, she married Brian in 1969, giving birth to two lovely sons – Stuart in 1970 and Andrew in 1976 and settling in Alwoodley in Leeds in 1978. After her children were grown, Sheila trained as an advisor for Leeds Citizens Advice Bureau and became keen to study further. So she completed an Access Course and was accepted to study Law at the University of Leeds through its excellent Lifelong Learning Centre.
The Lifelong Learning Centre enables mature students to study part-time, typically taking 6 years to complete a full degree and when Sheila began her law studies in 2004, this was the case with Law. But in May 2006, the Law School withdrew Law from the Lifelong Learning Centre’s available degrees list. This was a severe blow as it meant that any students part-way through their Law studies had to either give up or agree to study full-time. Although this would mean a doubling of modules, seminars and essays, Sheila had no intention of giving up!
I am still in awe of how Sheila achieved this, particularly in relation to the exams. Recognising her slowness at writing, the Law School arranged for Sheila to have an amanuensis – a person who would write down her exam answers for her. In other words – Sheila had to read the exam questions, formulate her essays in her head and then dictate them to the amanuensis! As someone whose essays are full of changes and crossings out, I still marvel at how she did this. Luckily, the Law School allowed her 50% extra exam time but this meant that every 3-hour exam lasted an exhausting 4 and a half hours for Sheila.
After graduation, Sheila resumed working for Citizens Advice Leeds, using her newly-acquired legal knowledge to help those who needed it. And the Law School remained ever close to her heart. She and I loved visiting it, walking around the grounds and having lunch in one of the eateries. And when we did, Sheila would always, as ever, be unconsciously spreading happiness through her lovely smile at everyone and everything around her. According to her younger sister Jackie, Sheila was contented to the last, telling her family on the last day of her life, that she had had a “Good Life”.
Text written by Danuta Brooke LLB Law with Australian Legal Studies 2010
