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Phoebe

2020 Linguistics graduate.

What have you gone on to do after graduating?

Since graduating I have now become a full-time employee at Newcastle University as an Outreach Ambassador. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked with the University's funded project N.E.S.T. as the voluntary lead for volunteer support and wellbeing.

What were the benefits of the PARTNERS Programme for you?

The PARTNERS Programme taught me skills I hadn't had the chance to learn at Sixth Form such as referencing, and how to structure academic writing. When I started university I found I was confident at accessing different services at the university, I knew my way around the campus and I already knew the academic staff.

As my parents didn't go to university, it really took the nervousness out of the first week for me. It also gave me a chance to meet friends who were also doing my course.

What support did you receive from the PARTNERS Team during the PARTNERS Academic Summer School and throughout your time at University?

The PARTNERS team were always there on hand to offer employability support!

They would also answer any questions I had via email and were so helpful in directing me to the correct department I needed to be in contact with to answer my questions.

Did the PARTNERS Programme influence your career choices?

The PARTNERS programme definitely influenced my career choices. They showed me there were so many options available to me, and gave me the skills and insights I needed into my chosen career sector through the employability section of the programme.

I also got to meet all of the academics currently working in the field I want to go into in the future (Speech and Language Therapy). This meant I had the opportunity to ask leading academics in the field how I could get into that sector.

If you could give advice or tips to a new PARTNERS student, what would it be?

Enjoy every minute of it!

Take all of the experiences the PARTNERS Programme gives you - it will be so useful to you in not only university, but the wider working world too. Most importantly, smile and have fun! Don't be shy to talk to people as everyone is in the same boat as you, I met my best friends through the PARTNERS Programme.