Father's Day 2025
News
Father's Day 2025
Monday, 16 June, 2025Father's Day is a moment to pause and celebrate the father figures in our lives.
At BSU, we recognise that every story of fatherhood is unique. Whether it’s a memory from childhood, a moment of shared growth, or the inspiration a father figure provided along a personal or academic journey, these stories remind us of the deep connections that guide and support us. In honour of Father’s Day, we’re sharing the story of a BSU student who experienced becoming a father during his studies.
Andrew Aitken, graduate of BSc Psychology, discusses his transition into fatherhood during his degree. Before moving to BSU, Andrew grew up in Caerleon South Wales, picking BSU to study as he found beauty in the campus and the city. After his first year, Andrew moved to Twerton to live in a student house. Little did he know, across the road lived his future wife and mother to his child, Phoebe. Hitting it off straight away, within two years they were married with a baby on the way.
Describing the moment he fell in love, Andrew said:
“The moment I knew she was special was when she played ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Elvis Presley on the piano at the Michael Tippet Centre.”
In the midst of his studies, Andrew discovered that his fiancée Phoebe was pregnant.
Speaking on that adjustment, Andrew reflected:
“Finding out about the baby definitely changed things but I was personally over the moon. Balancing my final year of uni, working full time and supporting my then pregnant fiancée was obviously a challenge at the time but it is one I would not change for the world.”
Andrew graduated from BSc Psychology this past February. Andrew's life post-university as a young father has been difficult, but he described adjusting his lifestyle to suit his family and their needs:
“Becoming a father is a very different challenge to motherhood and I would never look to equate it, however it is still a large adjustment. Luckily, due to my post-graduate work not starting straight away it provided me with well enjoyed time with my new family, which certainly helped the adjustment. Since starting my full-time job, I have been able to find a comfortable balance between supporting my family and expectations at work.”
On Father's Day, Andrew spent a restful day with his new family and his own father having a Sunday roast.
Offering advice to current students in a similar situation, his advice is this:
“The advice I would give to anyone who finds themselves in our position is do not be scared. Do not be afraid and be strong. It isn't easy and I won't make it out to be, but it is something that we are all capable of and at the end of the road you will have the greatest gift imaginable. You will support and never be scared to ask for it, either from friends, family, university support or third party. There is always help, so don’t be afraid.”