Published: August 24, 2018
Hi! I’m Laura, I’m 21 and I’m going to be starting BA (Hons) Community and Youth Work Studies at Sunderland in September. I found out about Summer School from a University email. As I’m visually impaired, I wasn’t sure how much help I would get but when an Ambassador from the University contacted me, I was able to ask them about the support I would get if I signed up.
I have received amazing help from both the staff and the Ambassadors. I talked to a member of staff about things that I would need and when I arrived on the day, everything was set up to get me around the campuses and show me where I needed to go.
It was important for me to come to Summer School because I wanted to meet some of the people I would be studying with and to get used to being on campus. One of my main concerns for starting university was that I may feel overwhelmed by the number of buildings and I may get lost. As the Summer School has only been four days, I still don’t know every bit of the campus but I feel a lot more confident in my abilities to not only get around but how to get to and from home. I’ve been able to plan my routes and this has helped me feel more prepared for September.
It’s the start of Sunderland uni summer school ¿¿
— Laura ¿ (@wilmotwillnot) June 26, 2018
When I mentioned to staff that I wouldn’t be able to read the lecturer’s presentations, they made sure that I had an electronic version sent to me so I could look at them on my iPad. This meant that I could get involved easily as I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with what was going on if I had to take notes.
I was also told that I could have an Ambassador take notes for me if I wanted them to. My partner, who works as a scribe, came in to help me instead. This included taking part in the treasure hunt in order to guide me and help me with looking at the treasure hunt map and the quiz.
Some of the lectures that have been included on the programme have been HE skills, budgeting, Societies House and one or two faculty based sessions. I enjoyed going into the course-specific sessions as I was able to find out more about my course and learn about the skills needed at University. When I attended my course specific session I met one of my future lecturers and one of my classmates for September. I now feel more prepared for my course as I was able to ask questions about how the course will run and what to expect. I also know someone that will be on my course with me so I feel better knowing that I will have someone that I can talk to when the course starts.
All in all, Summer School has been relaxed, fun and informative and while I nearly didn’t come, I am glad that I spoke up and voiced my concerns as they were met with a can-do attitude and a lot of help. I am definitely glad that I didn’t miss this opportunity as it’s a great chance to meet others and find your feet before university starts.
Laura Wilmot
Topic: Student lifestyle