What has your university experience been like so far?
Starting at university I was nervous as I did not know many people who were attending, however I have made lots of friends here from many different places; most of them are from my course and other business courses, some are from my accommodation, some from starting netball at the beginning of the year, some from Open Days where I volunteered as a student ambassador and some at my part -ime job at Jack Wills. I have secured a close friendship group that I am living in a house with next year - the friends I have made are ones I know I will keep for life!
I’ve always had a part-time job; through high school and sixth form and I never struggled with this. However, when I started university, I transferred stores from Jack Wills back home to the store in the middle of Chester, and I struggled. I was trying to do too much with not enough time. I started netball as well as working, attending university and socialising in the evenings. After a couple of weeks, I decided to stop netball and focus more on university and part-time work. It’s now a lot easier to manage my time and prioritise my free time. A part-time job has really helped me to become more confident with meeting new people, switch off from deadlines and other uni work, and of course, the money is a bonus too.
What have you enjoyed most about your course?
The Developing Professional Practice sessions were beneficial to me during my first year. This is because they helped us to settle into university and with what to expect with lectures, seminars and assignments etc. A session which stood out to me was the November Group Presentation Session, where we were put into random groups, given a random object, and had to sell it to the rest of the class as something completely different. We were given a toilet roll and we presented it as a multi-purpose eco holder. In the past, I’ve really struggled with presenting in front of people, especially in front of people I hardly know. However, this session helped me to boost my confidence and the feedback really helped me to understand how to improve this even further.
Overall, I have really enjoyed my first year at university. It hasn’t been as easy as I first thought, but in the end it all worked out and I am extremely proud of myself for how far I have come in only a short amount of time, and I am very glad I decided to take this new exciting adventure at the University of Chester.
