Student Jolyon Malin’s journey is a powerful example of resilience, determination, and the transformative power of education.
Jolyon, who is in the final year of a Foundation Degree in Marine Engineering at City College Plymouth, experienced a profound personal loss at a young age when his father died from cancer. At just 12 years old, he suddenly found himself becoming what he describes as “the man of the house”, supporting his mum and sister through an incredibly difficult time. Despite the challenges of losing a parent in childhood, Jolyon has shown remarkable resilience, channelling his experiences into personal growth and outstanding academic achievement.
He vowed that adversity would not define his future and made a conscious decision to pursue education as a way forward. After finishing school, he enrolled at the College to concentrate on his degree and found he was able to balance his personal responsibilities with his commitment to studies, which gradually improved his skills and his confidence.
Fast forward to today, and at the age of 20, Jolyon’s academic journey has reached a significant milestone – he has just become the first individual to complete a course in operating remote marine autonomous vehicles. The course, a collaborative initiative between the College and Seabot Maritime, came about when Seabot offered to sponsor a City College student through the course, and they chose Jolyon.
After completing the course in remote uncrewed surface vessel operation, he is now more determined than ever to pursue a career in marine engineering or marine autonomy when he finishes college. He said: “The entire course was just brilliant. It gave me a whole new understanding and perspective on what it means to be a remote operator of marine autonomous vessels and what I’ve learned opens up a range of additional possibilities for me in terms of a career.”
Seabot is now looking at offering regular sponsorships and Apprenticeships to College students in the future. The collaboration follows City College’s recent designation as a Defence Technical Excellence College (DTEC) – a prestigious status awarded to only five colleges nationwide. DTECs are specialist institutions that combine advanced technical education with a focus on defence and engineering. The Seabot initiative exemplifies the innovation and collaboration at the heart of the DTEC model, helping to unlock opportunities in emerging industries.
After completing his A Levels, Jolyon weighed up various options before talking to a number of people who had nothing but praise for the courses at City College – and he set his heart on this foundation degree, which in turn led to him being offered the course by Seabot.
Jolyon is also particularly proud to follow in the footsteps of his father, Peter, who was just 46 when he died. Peter was a Chief Petty Officer and weapons engineer in the Navy, so he feels a strong bond and calling with a career connected to maritime. “From what I remember of him, I can recall doing lots of different buildings with Lego and technical things, taking things apart. My interest in the marine industry, therefore, definitely came from my dad. When he died, and because I was so young, I had to grow up very quickly because I wanted to look after my mum and my sister. I’ll always be thankful to my mum – she has stayed strong through everything and helped my sister and me massively. I wouldn’t be where I am without her.”
