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I’ve always known I would go into a career in the care field. For a while, I thought I’d go into psychology, but I preferred a more practical approach. Social work seemed to be exactly the field I was looking for.

I wanted to attend university in a different country. I grew up with the stability of living just outside of Washington DC, in America, my whole life, and this greatly benefitted my development as a child.

However, this single view of life was not one I wanted to keep, especially if I wanted to become a social worker. I had always wanted to travel the world, learn new languages, and meet people with different views and ways of life.

A supportive university

In all honesty, my original draw to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ was the scenery. However, ´óÏó´«Ã½ swiftly flew to the top of my list because of the positivity and kind messages I would continuously receive from staff at the University. I’m happy to say this kindness and positivity has not gone away to this day.

My whole life I’ve struggled with generalised anxiety disorder. When I first got to ´óÏó´«Ã½, I had a hard time with my mental health and ended up booking a help session with the Student Wellbeing Service.

From there, I was signposted to a variety of different resources to help me. It’s really important for students to know that part of the resources they’re paying for include mental health services.

It also helps to be on a course with trained social workers on the teaching team, as they tend to be open to hearing about and working through any struggles I find myself having.

A whole world of skills

It’s amazing to be able to take a course I’m so interested in. A big thing that drew me to social work was the range of topics it covers. 

In just my first semester, we’ve been able to talk with a wide range of professionals, be it mediation service workers, children’s counsellors, motivational interviewing specialists, or hospice workers.

As someone who doesn’t know exactly which field of social work they want to head into yet, it is so helpful to see and hear from such a variety of professionals.

I think the first skill I’ve developed since I came to ´óÏó´«Ã½ was the skill of being able to hear different points of view. My viewpoint is not the only one in the world, nor should it be, and I think this concept has really helped me and my people skills.

One of our most recent skills days was centred around learning Makaton, a tool that social workers use to help communicate with individuals who have communication difficulties.

One of my favourite memories so far has been going home for winter break and explaining a social work theory to my dad, then later having him apply it in normal conversation.  I feel like I’m becoming a better listener and observer of those around me.

Finally, I’ve been able to develop an ability to appreciate and acknowledge my strengths – something that will be very important when I make my way into the working world.

Standing up for other students

I’ve taken on two different positions outside of my studies.

As a course rep, I pass ideas and suggestions from my peers onto our course leads. Everyone in my year has really good thoughts and communicates them intelligently, so when they feel nervous to pass them along, I do my best to be the voice for them. I know what it’s like to be nervous to bring up an issue, so I’m very happy to help.

As an international student ambassador, I help the University’s Global team, working to support international students. I get to be a positive face in a crowd.

I’ve become good friends with a group of international students I met at orientation. I’ll be sharing a house with them next year and travelling to Spain with a couple of them over consolidation week.

I’ve also been to meetings with the board game, cinema, and crochet societies. One common theme is the friendly energy in every room these societies meet in. I am looking to get more into them as my time in university progresses.

Growing as a person

Moving to a different country is one of the most fascinating and complex things I’ve ever experienced. It’s hard to believe how different the United States is compared to England.

There are so many things I anticipated would be such a big deal - like understanding accents - that, at the end of the day, have made no difference to me. But little things, like not having any clue what ‘Pancake Day’ is, have sparked hour-long conversations!

Since moving to ´óÏó´«Ã½, I’ve changed as a person. One of the first things my dad said to me after I’d lived here for a couple of weeks was that I seemed to be a lot more confident in my skin.

I feel very driven by the idea that I’ll soon go out on placement and help people.