Maria O'Neill remembers "absolutely sobbing in her room" when she received her school exam results but now has her own business working with major fashion designers. Get the latest Renfrewshire stories sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter We have more newsletters Get the latest Renfrewshire stories sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter We have more newsletters A Paisley businesswoman is encouraging Renfrewshire school leavers not to be disheartened if their exam results aren’t what they expected – as she shares how there is more than one route to success. Maria O’Neill remembers “absolutely sobbing in her room” when her grades came in thinking her “dreams were over” but that hasn’t stopped the talented artist from working with Prada, Jo Malone and Creed.
Maria’s exam results were far from what she expected with having her heart set on going to Glasgow University to study music straight from school. This wasn’t to be the route for Maria who went to college before making it to Glasgow University a year later. She told the Paisley Daily Express : “None of my exams in either fourth, fifth or sixth year were that great and certainly not what I’d hoped for.
“I didn’t get the grades I wanted because I picked subjects I naturally wasn’t good at and I will absolutely encourage kids to pick subjects they like, they enjoy and are naturally gifted in. “That’s where you will thrive. Renfrewshire Live, the new free app dedi.