Did you get involved in any extracurricular activities as a student?
Birmingham offers a vast array of opportunities to get involved in, I realised that pretty quickly during all of the fresher's fairs and email correspondence (not to be ignored!). In sports, I competed at the University Indoor Ultimate Frisbee nationals, a sport that I picked up at university, became social secretary for and to this day, live with three people who are also club alumni. I was a member of the MechSoc football club, the University tennis club, swimming charity events, the BUDs 5 km charity run, the inaugural Birmingham Marathon. It's easy to ignore in the moment, but meeting new people and operating under pressure were valuable experiences for me moving forwards. I received a scholarship to study in Korea for free for four weeks over the summer, studying Strategic Management and International Business, all thanks to the international relations department. My first time in Asia, was an incredible experience, having to rely on myself more than ever and question things I'd previously taken personally and culturally for granted. I earned money as a student ambassador within the department, represented third year on the MechSoc committee, and on Monday nights did salsa...
What advice would you give to current students?
Programme-wise, talking to people from previous years is very helpful both for projects and module selection. When dealing with academics remember that people operate in different ways, some may be slow via email, but welcoming if you drop by their office. Accommodation-wise, it genuinely is what you make of it. The faster you accept where you are and who you're with, the faster things become what you hoped they'd be all along.