I love staying busy and I can’t imagine spending my time at university any better!

I’m a third year Civil and Structural Engineering student from Warsaw, Poland. I always wanted to study abroad, and the University of Sheffield was an obvious choice given its prestige around the world. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my university experience since I started my course in 2019. I’ve been involved with many societies such as Women in Engineering, Sheffield Space Initiative (Project MarsWorks) and the University Tennis Club. I had lots of opportunities to gain hands-on, technical experience in the first 2 years of my course and this year focuses on applying the knowledge I gained into real life scenarios.

Despite having a lot going on already, I still manage to work part time as a student ambassador and a server at various students’ union outlets. I make sure to socialise with my friends everyday to maintain a healthy work-life balance. I love staying busy and I can’t imagine spending my time at university any better! Below is an example of how I spend a day.

7:30am Wake up and start getting ready for the day. Go to the kitchen and make myself some tea and breakfast.

8:30am Set off to go to lectures with some of my housemates who also happen to be on my course. I live in a shared house about 20 minutes away from the Diamond. This year especially, my lectures are spread all around the campus, so I get to explore a lot of new buildings!

9:00am Attend lectures and tutorials for around 2-3 hours. The lecturers introduce pieces of new material that builds on what I’ve learnt in the previous years. There is a strong emphasis on everyday applications of the concepts we discuss. We are given real-life problems to solve during tutorials which builds up my confidence in understanding the material.

11:00am To make the most out of my time on campus, I do some of my maths mentoring work when I get a longer break between lectures. I meet up with one of my mentees (first year civil engineering students) to discuss any issues they may have had and see whether I can help them or point them in the right direction.

1:00pm Time for a lunch break! I usually have something that I had prepared myself the day before, but occasionally I like to treat myself to a New Leaf wrap. I like to sit down in the Engineering Heartspace café with my course mates, it’s probably my favourite space on the campus. I always bump into friends over there so it’s a great place to socialise.

2:00pm A meeting for one of my on-going group projects. We meet in one of the bookable study spaces in the Diamond and discuss any updates, issues or progress.

3:00pm Cover shift at one of the Students Union outlets. I work part time and like to take up a few hour shifts if they become available and I have a few hours to spare.

5:00pm A well-deserved break. I sit down in the Diamond Reference Library and plan for the next day. I go through some of the lecture material or attempt tutorial questions with my friends.

6:00pm Project MarsWorks weekly meetings to catch-up with all the sub-teams. As the project leader it is my duty to ensure everything goes according to plan within the project. I lead the weekly meetings with the operations sub-team and the other team leads.

8:00pm Socials! Balance is key so I make sure to have some fun with either friends or some of the societies I’m a part of. We usually go to Bar One because that’s where the fun is and their veggie burgers are to die for.

10:00pm Time to go home and get ready for the next day. I shower, tidy up and if it’s not too late I do some meal preparation. I put on a show and relax before bed.

11:30pm Finally, it’s time to sleep and get ready for what the next day has in store!