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Summer Camp

This time two summers ago I was getting ready to fly out to do Camp in America!

Summer is what you make it, and after my first year at Edge Hill, I decided it was time to make it the best summer ever! If it wasn’t for me coming to Edge Hill I would have never done or known about half the things you can get involved in. Edge Hill frequently have stalls in the Hub and Hale Hall, which advertise part-time, graduate jobs and voluntary jobs. And that was where I found the stall for Camp Leaders. It was blue, which was to be honest what caught my eye, as it’s my favourite colour!

I took a leaflet and the next thing I knew, I received an email offering me a place at a Camp. Don’t get me wrong, the process was long and time-consuming, but it all seemed to happen really quickly for me!

I spent the most incredible 10 weeks of my life in Massachusetts. I originally applied to be a counsellor in teaching dance (as I do dance at home as a hobby) but then realised, I could make it relevant to my degree and be an office secretary instead.

Every day there was a schedule, and working in the office you had to be there for 7.30am to play the first “bugle” which woke the whole camp up for breakfast. It was so much fun! My roles were basically to keep the office running. But, out of working hours I could get involved with all the camp activities, and go explore out the camp too.

On my days off I would go shopping in the town, or spend it on the beach, chill out and socialise with other campers that were around.

I wish I had more of a word count…I could go on all day long! If you ever get the opportunity to do Camp… I promise you, it’s the best, most amazing experience ever! 🙂

The most exciting thing to ever come through the post!
The most exciting thing to ever come through the post!
My cabin!
My cabin!
celebrated my 19th birthday over there! :)
Celebrated my 19th birthday over there! 🙂
Camps lake
Camps centre lake.
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Office girls.
nights out with the bestie!
Nights out with the bestie!
my cabin bed!
My cabin bed!
Office.
Office.

 

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Finding a Job

Now that I’ve finished my studies it’s time to find a job. Right now pretty much every single relative I have feels the need to remind me of this fact whenever they see or speak to me, in fact I’m thinking about getting ‘still unemployed’ tattooed on my forehead to save time… But luckily I have a really handy resource at my fingertips, and that is the Edge Hill Careers Centre. They are able to help me with my job search for up to three years after I graduate, which is definitely useful. They also help you find any part-time work that you may be looking for alongside your studies, any volunteer work, or a summer job to keep you entertained over the holidays. I actually used their online vacancy system to find this job a few years ago!

Pretty much me right now
Me at graduation, probably

So how can they help? Well, they have a big database of jobs that they update all the time, and you are free to browse it at your leisure. They also offer a CV checking service where they will look over your CV and let you know if there is anything you can do to improve it. I used this service and it was definitely reassuring to know that my CV wasn’t a complete disaster! The Careers Centre also offer interview advice, and you are able to book a meeting with them and they will do their best to help you prepare for anything the interviewer might throw at you.

They also offer careers advise which can also be really useful. If you’re not sure what careers your degree can open up doors for, or if you’re unsure that you’ve chosen the right course, it’s definitely worth having a chat with them, which is of course confidential. I definitely got to a point in my degree where I felt like I wasn’t really sure what I was working towards any more, and I think this would have been a lot of help.

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The Careers Centre can also help you meet employers, as they are always holding events, such as careers fairs and arranging for visiting speakers to come in. These really give you the opportunity to make connections that may one day lead to employment.

If you want to find out more, you can do so on the Edge Hill website here.

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Things are good… for once!

For once, I haven’t got too much to moan about.

Usually, I’ve got a million and one things going wrong in my life (well that’s a lie, its more like one or two things, but we’ll go with that for now) and it’s nice to have very little to moan about.

Firstly my course is going better than ever. Last year I sort of skated through the year, doing enough work to pass but nothing else. If I’m being honest, I had a bad attitude and I knew that coming into year 2 things had to change. After a recent run of good results I’m not only enjoying my course, but I’m more confident than ever when it comes to my studies. I spend hours in the library- mostly searching for books, but at least I’m doing more than last year. I ask questions and get involved in seminar tasks more than ever, along with my attendance being twice what it was last year. Go me.

Socially things are also amazing. My friendship group has always been close, with the odd disagreement here and there, but we still manage to put up with each other. I’ve managed to get a part-time job! FINALLY! With receiving the minimum student loan I rely a lot on the support from my family, so I’m happy to finally be contributing something.

So yeah I don’t have a lot to moan about… yet. No doubt I’ll be back to normal in a few weeks, but for now let’s just enjoy a moaning break.

Until next time…:)

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How to Manage your Time at University

One of the hardest things I’ve found in my second year of university is time management! Trying to juggle studying, part time jobs, work experience and still having a social life is a hard task to master, and its probably taken me till now to finally figure it out!
Obviously, the course always comes first, I’m a very career driven girl so for me, getting the grades and a good degree was always at the top of my ‘To do’ list. But then comes the part time job, with a shopping addiction like mine, I had to either get a job or live in a cardboard box, luckily I chose the first! I think finding the perfect part time job that fits in around your course is so hard, but the university offer so many great opportunities so definitely scout out the best options for you before you commit yourself to a check out 7 nights a week!
So I managed to juggle to two of those pretty well but then came the work experience, I think I probably went a bit over board on this one. If I could offer any advice, it would be don’t bite off more than you can chew! I tried and failed miserably! I attempted to try and do as much freelance work as a could, just to gain some experience, and sadly this is when I had to wave goodbye to my social life.
This last semester really made me realise whats important when juggling uni life. Yes, getting the grades is at the top, but these 3 years go so fast, so make sure you do keep the time for a social life, you’ll meet friends for life at university and you’d hate to look back and realise you wasted theses years locking yourself in the library and going to work! Societies will allow you to let your hair down and and throw yourself into something you’re passionate about, so do it! And will the right balance of everything you’ll come out as a better well rounded person, with amazing memories.
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Until next time 🙂

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Should you have experience before starting your course?

In my first year of 6th form I had no clue what the hell I was going to do with my life after I finished. In fact, even by the start of the second year I still didn’t really know. I loved all my A-Levels – English, Art and Design and Performing Arts, but wasn’t sure I could see a career path at the end that was right for me, and wasn’t sure I wanted to specialise in any of those areas at University. It wasn’t until I was flicking through prospectuses that I finally saw something that caught my eye and combined a good level of art direction, creative writing and business – Advertising.

The fundamental idea of it really excited me, all the modules sounded right up my street, they were exciting and creative but all with a purpose, which really caught my attention. But to be honest it was a subject I knew very little about. I’d never studied media or marketing business modules, so although it sounded like a subject I could do, I didn’t really have much of a clue, which is why I went looking for some experience.
I started by asking friends and family if they knew anyone I could shadow, and slowly started to contact more people until I was finally offered a weeks experience in Berlin!

The week I spent there was so valuable, I learnt so much in such a short space of time, and really made me excited to start a course and career in advertising. It was such an eye opener, although it wasn’t something I needed to get onto the course, it really made me understand the industry, and by the time I started the course I could really relate everything I was learning back into the industry.

Being pro active and really getting excited about what you will be learning about at university is so beneficial. Even if you just spend one day over summer shadowing someone, I would really recommend it!

This is a little video from Saatchi and Saatchi Berlin, where I was lucky enough to get work experience!

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Fresher year in a nutshell!

Year one of being a fresher can be a mix of emotions. On one hand you’re excited to move away; to make new friends, memories and to have your first real taste of freedom. However, on the other hand you face budgeting disasters, a level of stress to produce good work for your course and waves of feeling homesick… but despite these small setbacks I personally wouldn’t change my fresher’s year for anything.

During my first year I commuted from student accommodation based in Liverpool. I went from my mum’s fabulous cooking to ready meals and cheap vodka. From her washing all my clothes, to learning how to use the washing machine myself. From watching my mum fix all my problems, to having to sort them out for myself. I never thought in a million years that I would be able to look after myself. But thanks to uni life, I found my inner independence and learned more in my first year than my previous 18.

When it comes to being a fresher, I can’t speak highly enough of the support provided by the University. From form tutors all the way to student services, Edge Hill University puts every student first and solely concentrates on their well-being. The student union puts on amazing events throughout the year to make 1st -3rd year as memorable as possible. Societies, whether social, sports or alternative clubs, encourage freshers to get involved within the other areas of uni.

So, whether you’re moving out or commuting from home, freshers’ year will be unforgettable. Everyone is in the same boat as you; nervous, scared, excited. Just take a deep breath and enjoy every moment.

 

Until next time…:)

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