Running a hugely successful town centre hairdressing salon is a full-on commitment at the best of times but when you’re also lecturing in college, being the mother of two busy children, running a home and walking the dogs, life is nothing less than intense.

But if you add a three-year PGCE degree course into the equation, then the person at the other end is nothing short of Superwoman.

This week Cardigan salon owner Donna Williams – or Donna Biddyr as she is fondly known in her hometown of Cardigan – has proved herself a mighty force to be reckoned with after graduating with a PGCE despite all the pressures of running Salon K27 and juggling the ceaseless demands of family life.

Western Telegraph: Donna Williams, following her graduation ceremony earlier this weekDonna Williams, following her graduation ceremony earlier this week (Image: Donna Williams)

“Yes, there were times, especially during these last 12 months, when I felt like chucking it all in,” said the 42-year-old from her home in Cardigan.

“But my family, my staff and my peers at college have all been so supportive of me every step of the way and I know that I wouldn’t have been able to have achieved this without them.”

The idea of completing the degree course came to Donna after she completed an assessors’ qualification at Coleg Ceredigion around seven years ago.

“I started teaching practical work in the salon and also began teaching in Coleg Ceredigion as a training advisor, assessor and skills tutor,” she explained.

“The college then suggested that I did my PGCE to become a lecturer and so I decided tyo give it a go.”

This meant reducing her time in the salon by one day which enabled her to continue teaching at the college, attend lectures and always be at the ready to support her two children who are aged 21 and 13. Things became even tougher for Donna when she suffered a very close family bereavement in 2022.

“This was when I came that close to giving it all up,” she continues. “The kids needed me, my husband needed me and to cap it all, my ME began to get worse.

“The most challenging thing of all was trying to find a balance between work and my family life. The girls at the salon were truly amazing in the way they encouraged me to keep going and so too, was my family.”

Now, following her graduation ceremony earlier this week, Donna is preparing to readjust her life back to a more manageable level.

“At the moment, I feeling pretty exhausted so it’ll be good just to have a bit of time out with the children and family over the summer and then decide what to do with the degree as there are now quite a few options open.

“But this just proves that if I can do it, then anyone can. It’s all about believing in yourself but also the importance of others believing in you, too.

“Anything is achievable if you put your mind to it.”