World champion Dechlan is boxing clever at University of Stirling graduation

A former professional boxer who combined his studies with becoming a Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion has celebrated his graduation at the University of Stirling.

Dechlan Nicoll graduated with a BSc (Hons) Psychology, having balanced studying with a gruelling training schedule to become a World Kickboxing Organisation (WKO) C-class heavyweight world champion in both disciplines – as well as holding down a full-time job as an autism practitioner.

After excelling in an Access to Degree Studies course, Dechlan – first in his family to achieve a degree – secured a place studying a BSc Psychology at the University, but in the summer of his second year decided to come out of retirement for one last crack at combat sports.

He explained: “I felt like I had something left in the tank. I trained hard throughout my second year and really threw myself into a training camp at the end of the semester.

“What started off as a retirement fight to get it out of my system became an entry into the WKO World Championship. I ended up winning WKO Heavyweight world titles in Muay Thai and kickboxing.

“It was unplanned. It wasn’t a goal. The whole purpose was to just get it out of my system so that I could focus on my third and fourth year.”

Returning to university just a fortnight after his world title success, Dechlan was then diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

He continued: “The competition was two weeks before I came back to study, and I was incredibly burnt out. I had several broken bones, and it led to the first part of an ADHD diagnosis after speaking to the educational psychologist at the University.

“Through psychology I had a good understanding of the clinical classification of it. But there’s a lot more that is anecdotal. It’s people’s experiences. And I found that I shared almost all of them with others who had been diagnosed with ADHD.

“Learning and inclusion services at the University were extremely helpful and were willing to give me anything I needed to succeed. I refused all of it, but I was highly appreciative of how much they offered.

“Once I’d started to understand the condition then it wasn’t something I needed.”

Access to academia

Having left school with no qualifications, 33-year-old Dechlan, originally from Livingston but now living in Alloa, travelled to London to follow his dream of becoming a professional fighter. However, with no support network he found himself sleeping in the gym where he trained.

Two years later, Dechlan joined the British Army – before becoming a personal trainer. But his true passion was psychology, and an Access course at the University of Stirling allowed him the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a clinical psychologist.

Access courses are open to anyone who wants to study an undergraduate degree course but has few or no formal qualifications or has been out of full-time education for more than three years. Successful completion offers a pathway to a wide range of undergraduate courses at the University.

Dechlan is the first member of his family to graduate from university

Dechlan said: “In my head, very early on, I made peace with the fact that academia wasn’t for me, and it wasn’t a route that I’d ever be able to go down.

“I wanted to be a psychotherapist when I was younger. Despite being heavily into combat sports, what I really wanted to do was therapy.

“I was always good at empathising and listening to people’s struggles. I found I could often understand them better than they could. But I had no route into anything psychology based.

“When I moved into employment nothing was motivating me. It was a struggle.

“Then I found out about the Access to Degree Studies course at the University of Stirling. It gave me the in that I had always been looking for because I had no qualifications and no academic background whatsoever.”

No regrets

And Dechlan, who is now hoping to secure a place on the MSc Psychological Therapy in Primary Care course, had a message for others who fear a lack of qualifications could prevent them from moving into higher education.

He added: “I would much rather live with the challenges of going through academia, than with the regret of not knowing what might’ve been.

“It is tough, but I learned to slow down, be kinder to yourself and enjoy the successes.

“Early on there are no expectations. You will learn from your mistakes and that was something that took me three years to understand.

The lecturers aren’t trying to catch you out; they are giving you feedback to help you improve.

“It’s demanding, but the faculty will be there for you and support you every step of the way.”

Dechlan joins 2,157 students who will celebrate their graduation at the University’s summer ceremonies this week.