An Introduction
Hello Everyone!
I’m Nikki, the new intern in the Access Manchester team and I’ve been tasked with writing the blog posts for this site! I thought it would be good- as my first post- to tell you a little bit about myself and also what blog series I hope to start (and continue) during my time here.
About Me
So, about me- I have just finished my undergraduate degree in Archaeology at The University of Manchester, so it’s really nice to be able to be able to stay in Manchester for another year whilst doing this internship (although I am mostly working from home in North Wales at the moment). I enjoy running (although I’m not very fast, it’s more of a slow jog) and I am currently training for the Great Manchester Run Half Marathon at the end of the month! I also really enjoy baking and cooking- I am particularly proud of my vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe!
I am from a disadvantaged area in North Wales and went to a low-performing high school, so I certainly understand the struggles of transitioning into higher education from a less advantaged background- which is why the Access Manchester schemes and similar schemes throughout the country are so important! I really look forward to getting stuck into writing all sorts of interesting blogs for you all to read- and I hope they will be just as helpful and interesting as all the previous posts have been.
Carrying on Blog Series
Speaking of previous posts, I am hoping to carry on the ‘Research the Researcher’ series as it is a great way to find out just how successful WP students can be! I am also thinking of expanding this series to include ‘Study the Student’- with profiles of undergraduate students telling you all about their interest both within and outside of academia. I would also like to carry on the ‘Scheme of the Semester’ series as it is a great way to provide more information about the access schemes offered by Manchester and beyond.
New Blog Series
In terms of new blog series, I thought it would be good to start a series called ‘University: Explained’, which will do what it says on the tin really! I’m hoping to whizz through all things University- from blended learning to choosing accommodation, from writing personal statements to fresher’s week. In particular, I want to focus on things that students who are the first in their family to go to university might not know- but may be considered common knowledge to others. I can certainly say that I was completely clueless about what to do when I was applying to and starting university so I know how helpful this information can be.
I also hope to do some blog features on specific courses. In particular, very popular courses such as Law, Economics and Medicine, but also less well-known courses such as Archaeology (yes, I am biased) and Classics, which some students may not consider taking at university due to lack of job prospects. Hopefully I can show you that there are lots of job prospects for these lesser-known courses and that it can sometimes be best to do what you love and enjoy rather than doing something you think will get you a good job!
What’s Next?
I’ll be posting again soon with a (mini) Scheme of the Semester post- this time about the platform Unibuddy, which is not exactly a scheme but is a great tool to use to ask all sorts of questions about university to current students- so look out for that!
