A dual honours degree will allow me to stand out from the crowd
I just knew I had to study business at university!
I studied Business at both GCSE and A Level and I loved it so much, especially learning about business strategies. I just knew I had to study business at university. I had studied Italian for eight years prior and was set on becoming fluent. As I couldn’t decide between Business and Italian, I chose both. The main factor that led to me choosing the University of Sheffield was that the course is offered in a 50/50 format. This means that I am not forced to go down one career path.
The many free online resources available helped me to develop in areas I was less confident
At Sheffield, I got to choose two languages so I chose French, in addition to Italian. I hadn’t studied French in four years and I hadn’t studied Italian in two years which made me worried about being behind. I quickly realised that there were a lot of people in similar positions to me, as well as people who had never studied languages at all. This made me less worried about messing up in class. The many free online resources also allowed me to develop the skills that I wasn’t confident in. Having access to movies in the languages I study with subtitles is particularly helpful!
Using my tutor’s consultation hours has definitely helped me
Being able to see my tutor in a 1-1 format has definitely helped me with understanding grammar points. I also recently joined the mentoring programme - this allowed me to be put in contact with an individual who has industry knowledge about the marketing industry, enabling me to make connections that could increase my employability.
Doing a dual honours degree will allow me to stand out from the crowd
Planning out my week as early as possible and consolidating my notes right after the lecture allows me to have enough time to practise my listening skills. I wanted to do a dual honours degree because it allows me to stand out from the crowd and makes travelling the world easier as I have the language skills to do so.
In the future, I would like to work in the embassy
Ideally, I would like to work in the embassy, perhaps as a diplomat or in foreign affairs. This way I would get to travel the world, use my cultural and linguistic knowledge and my business expertise.
The highlight of my university experience would be joining different societies
I’ve met so many cool people through being involved in societies, as well as being part of the African Caribbean Society committee. I am really excited about my year abroad next year - being able to explore a new country, meet diverse people and eat great food!
Don’t be afraid to try something new!
Don’t let the fact that you have no knowledge of a particular language deter you from studying it. I had very limited knowledge of French and next year I’m going on my year abroad to a French speaking country!