The theme of the event was Ambition – complete with official hash tag –
and visitors and participants alike were encouraged to talk about their
ambitions, both big and small; whether it’s simply getting into university,
becoming a nurse, getting a PhD or moving to far and distant lands.
The campus was covered in the word ‘Ambition’ which was really
eye-catching!
Here’s Robin and myself getting into the spirit of things!
Robin and I talked alongside another student at the University, Florence Broderick, meaning that those who attended the talk got a rounded view of life here at Southampton from three very different perspectives, with each of us having something very different to say!
It has been five years since I attended my open days as an eager yet
terrified sixth form student (I can’t believe
it’s been five years… where has that time gone!?) and so I was incredibly
excited to see the University really showing off what it has to offer, as well
as being one of the students for whom I had so much respect when I was
listening to welcome talks of my own.
Robin and myself with fellow student Florence and Pro Vice-Chancellor Alex Neill
Fortunately, I am still in the area, as I am researching and writing my 20,000 word dissertation, so I did not need to rearrange any plans to take part (unlike Florence, who needed to arrange flights back from Rome!). So after much preparation, the day finally arrived, and as I walked onto campus I was immediately struck by the welcoming and warm atmosphere: Surge Radio had set up camp on the red brick area and the music was really adding to the excitement; there were student guides in bright yellow t-shirts everywhere; signs for talks and demonstrations, and visitors walking around trying to take it all in. Fortunately enough we had been blessed with hot weather and the sun had come out in all its glory, which mean our lush, green campus was really shown off at its very best.
Our campus looking splendid in the hot summer sunshine –
a perfect
introduction to life here at Southampton!
Our talk was held in the Nuffield Theatre which was, at first, admittedly intimidating – I had only ever been on that stage for my Graduation ceremony last July (where has this year gone, too?!) and had not needed to spend any more time on there than it took to shake hands. Now I would be speaking for seven minutes or so in front of over one hundred people. My public speaking skills have come a long way during my time here, but I still get very nervous!
We were set up with our microphones, took our place on stage, and
listened to Pro-Vice Chancellor Alex Neill tell our visitors about the University’s reputation, facilities, and why it deserves to be their top
choice. Listening to his talk really reminded me of how overwhelming choosing a
university had been for me, and how the facts and figures really made it so
much trickier to work out what I wanted. I hoped that our student perspectives
would really make those facts and figures a reality to our audience,
demonstrating to prospective students how you can really make the most of your
time here.
I felt my hands shaking with nerves as Florence took to front of the
stage to deliver her talk. Florence graduates this summer from her degree in Modern
Languages and Contemporary European Studies. She spoke incredibly well about
her year abroad in Madrid, and her involvement with the Digital Champions which
in turn gave her opportunities to attend conferences, help lecturers to use
technology in their seminars, and even anchor a live show on digital
technology. She is now going on to an International Graduate Scheme with
Telefonica Digital in Madrid and then either California, Tel Aviv or Sao Paolo.
As she spoke, she credited her ability to realise her ambitions to the
university, through which the companies approached her, and which provided her
with the opportunities that allowed her to find out what it was she wanted to
do. I was incredibly impressed with her talk and I think the audience were as
well!
I was next, and I had chosen to discuss my studies with the audience
and stating what it was that made me choose Southampton as my first choice –
namely, the sense of community, the welcoming atmosphere, the excellent
reputation, and inspirational teaching. I also went on to talk about my
graduation, and my participation with Wessex Scene, before exploring my
ambition… which I will talk about more later in this post! Oh, the suspense!
Robin spoke after me about his overall love for his student experience, his horror at being halfway through his time at university, his involvement in the performing arts (his public speaking skills made it quite clear that he belongs on stage!) and his plans to connect his academic career with his theatrical experience and base his third year project on both subjects! I won’t go on to spill the beans, but it sounds fascinating!
We did this talk four times over the two days and, as we went on, it
got better (although I suffered with a little stage fright the second time
round, losing my place on my notes and panicking – much to my mortification!)
But I left each day hoping that we had inspired some students to make
Southampton a firm choice for their first year in 2014!
When we weren’t talking, Robin and I took ourselves off to experience
the Open Day for ourselves; we visited Avenue campus, which is where I spend a
lot of time as a Humanities student, and Garden Court where all the information
stands could be found (including a very impressive interactive ambition wall,
where we even stuck our own ambitions for all to see!)
Avenue campus looking as lovely as usual!
Not only did visitors have all this information available… they also had plenty of grassy space to enjoy the sun, a very tasty BBQ, and even an amazing ice cream van complete with toppings and sauce galore! Robin and I treated ourselves to one after our last talk, in celebration of a job well done! I definitely don’t remember having things like that at my open days and was rather jealous – when I first visited Southampton, it was pouring with rain!
The Ice Cream was delicious – I went for raspberry sauce and a flake!
Robin went for sprinkles on his… this was taken just before it melted
all over him!
So… what of my ambition? Well, I think I’ll try to sum up what I said in my talk:
My ambition is to be happy with whatever job I end up having; I want to
go to work with a smile on my face as often as possible, and I want to keep
challenging myself (I’m not letting all of the things I’ve learnt here at
Southampton go to waste!). I don’t really want to settle for anything. I want
to be successful too; not just in terms of earning a lot (though, as you can
imagine, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing!) but I want to feel as if I have
achieved something great, and made a difference to something, be that someone
else’s life or simply an office environment.
I have no job or grad scheme organised for when I finish my
dissertation in September …yet. But
I look forward to finding out what I really want to do. However, this isn’t due
to not having any options; rather, I feel that with my two degrees under my
belt and all of my experiences, I could do anything I wanted to do – so why would I settle?? I’m about to enter
another exciting stage of my life, and I’d rather not limit myself!
My ambition...
…as one of many on our Ambition Wall on the first Open Day!
I won’t go on to repeat my entire speech, as you have a chance to watch all of us in the video (apologies for any mistakes! I was really quite nervous!) but university really has been the making of me.
The University of Southampton will be holding more Open Days on Friday
6 and Saturday 7 September, which you can book places for now!
If the last few days are anything to go by, it’ll be fantastic, and I
really recommend trying to find out as much as possible about university life
while you’re there. You can never ask too many questions, and people are there
to help, so take advantage of it! When I was looking at universities, my poor
parents took me to my final three choices twice, so I could make the best
decision for myself. It’s worth getting
as much out of our Open Days as possible, just to make sure you know where you
want to live your life for the next three or four years.
If you came along to the Open Days this July, I hope you really enjoyed
everything our University has to offer and I just can’t express to you enough
how much of an amazing time I’ve had here!
If you’re coming along in September, I hope to see you then!
If you’re coming along in September, I hope to see you then!
Now, I had better get back to my research – this dissertation won’t
write itself – after all, it’s all part of #myambition!
Joanne
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