As The Herald's series into The State of Scotland's Colleges draws to a close, its impact has been noted across the sector.

For students it has offered a platform to show their achievements, highlighted the demands on the sector and for some simply given them a voice.

Here one lecturer, who wished to remain anonymous, tells James McEnaney what this week has meant.

For Lecturers, a decade of industrial dispute has exhausted us. I have quite literally lost count of the number of strike days I have taken in the last 10 years (and in some colleges there have been local strikes on top of that). It has really taken its toll on people in so many ways, but this week, college staff like me feel heard and seen for the first time in a very long time.

The due process to even get to the point of strike is exhausting. Many meetings; consultative ballots, statutory ballots, action short of strike, hardship funding, lobbying, scheduling, notification letters, legal advice, pickets, more meetings, newsletters, emailing and meeting MSPs, member briefings, posters, banners, campaigning... all of this and more.

And most depressing of all is that this takes time away from everyone's real focus, which should be delivering high quality learning and teaching for students. Teaching in colleges is a massive job and is stressful enough without all this. 

For some staff the constant dispute has pushed them to leave. For others the constant action has made them too war-weary to keep fighting; Union members regrettably crossing pickets tell me they are just too scunnered to fight or can't afford to keep losing pay. 

The stress and emotional pressure of it all is terrible. People end up off sick due to the stress. Partners and families bear the burden too. Work relationships are damaged, sometimes beyond repair. Industrial dispute is emotive and principled. It requires sacrifice, it has conflict by design and there is an almost inevitable tribalism as disputes continue on.

There seems to be broad political support for colleges but we must get past the grandstanding and posturing. We must change the careerists and vampires that take more than they give to the sector. We need investment. 

Most lecturers I know didn't set out to become college lecturers. Many have come from their respective trades in to lecturing. This group is uniquely attached to and invested in colleges having been through it themselves. There is such heart and dedication for the job.

Read more: 

7 things we learned about The State of Scotland's Colleges

The ESOL services that have changed lives in Glasgow

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I had not been to college but fell in love with the job. There is a deeply rewarding feeling contributing to education which helps the people and communities most in need. 

I hope The Herald series can be the catalyst for real change, not just by college leaders and politicians but more widely in Scotland we need to get better at owning our college stories. Be proud of them, tell your college story loudly. Many owe much to colleges; I feel we ought to be a society which is able to speak proudly of what colleges have done for us. 

This column was written by a college lecturer who wishes to remain anonymous.