Liam: My first blog!

As I the lift doors were closing, George – one of my lecturers from first year – walked past.

‘Hi, George!’

‘Hi Liam, did you see me on TV?!’

The doors closed.

Getting to know your lecturers is one way of improving your experience at University, but there are loads of other ways, too. I have decided to give this blog thing a go to give you more of an insight into what day-to-day student life is really like, and hopefully give you some tips on how to make it more rewarding.

I didn’t really get involved in extra-curricular activities in my first year. I am already 3 years behind because after Sixth Form I went travelling and ended up working in Malaysia. At the beginning, didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life.

Eventually I came to the decision that a good degree would help me, which gave me motivation and focus. In my first year, I put pretty much all my effort into studying, because I felt that justified not actively engaging in many societies.

This year, that has changed dramatically as, being an optimist, I like to say ‘Yes’. I enjoy helping others and making the most of my time, but on the negative side starting lots of new activities can leave little time for other things (such as studying).

I put quite a bit of time into the University’s new scheme to improve students’ employability, the Employability Passport. This is becoming an increasingly important part of Business School programmes and, whilst it is not compulsory at the moment, I have heard that it is soon likely to be.

You have to gain points for it by doing activities that will improve your future employability, like having a job and attending special lectures and workshops. I did those things last year meaning that at the beginning of this year I was invited to various networking events, workshops and the like, which have been very constructive.

In September, I became a Vice President on the board of the University of Greenwich Trading and Securities Society, and our University won the national University Trading Competition last year – so, no pressure then!

One of the most important things for someone on the sandwich course in their second year (like me!) is to apply for placements. A good time to start doing so would have been about a month ago, but I have not yet got round to it. It is one of those things that is really easy to put off, but could be significant to your future success.