Hey guys, I’m writing to you from a very cold and rainy Wednesday afternoon in City University library having given up on trying to write my dissertation and in desperate need of a break to take my mind off it. In the mist of all the exam and coursework stresses 3rd year midwifery students are currently under, I thought that it is important to reflect on the things I enjoy doing in my spare time- I don’t want to give you guys the impression that the life of a student midwife is all doom and gloom!

One of my favourite things to do since I moved to London in 2015 is to go for walks. I was so surprised by how close everything is to each other around here and last weekend I discovered that I can walk to Trafalgar Square in central London (the tourist hub area) in just under an hour and a half! People around here are so quick to jump on the tube or a bus because they’re readily available but actually especially in zones 1, 2 and 3 things are much closer than you would think! I love to walk into central around Trafalgar Square and then past Buckingham Palace then over the bridge past Big Ben and on to south bank; the home of the London eye, London dungeons, the sea life centre and lots of great market food stalls and street performers stretching for a few miles along the river Thames- a sunny afternoon well spent and totally FREE- a luxury often lost in the capital.

When I’m not studying hard in the library or walking aimlessly around London, I am usually working at the university. Getting to live in London comes with its costs and so whenever I can, I try to pick up work around uni as a student ambassador. Often I work for the uni’s marketing department and some of you reading this may remember me from numerous open days and applicant days as well as the selection and assessment days for the school of health sciences- HINT; I’m the one in red with the booming Yorkshire accent who was probably chatting away to you for much longer than I’m sure you wanted. As well as being a great way to make money, there’s something really rewarding about getting to be on the other side of the process. I remember my numeracy and literacy exams and interviews being so stressful, the university felt so big and London felt even bigger. It’s great to get the opportunity to try and make the process even slightly less daunting for someone else.

I also work as an ambassador for the Widening Participation department in uni- for those of you who haven’t heard of this before let me explain: in order for universities to charge the full tuition fee, they have to demonstrate that they are contributing to encouraging people from all backgrounds to consider, and the WP team at City target primary and high schools where statistically the kids are much less likely to go to university in the future. We bring them in and give them a taster for what going to university is like- this includes lots of trips and over the past three years I’ve been to London dungeons, Thorpe Park, an escape room, Pizza Express, Nandos and many more places as part of taster days/weeks that are available. This work has become more than just a job to me- it has provided me with the opportunity to work with kids and young people – which I love, it has allowed to develop my confidence and leadership skills and it has provided me with valuable work experience which I hope will help me to secure a midwifery job once I graduate in August.

I say this to every prospective university student I meet that whatever uni you decide to pick, find out about their Student Ambassador scheme- they will have one and it can be a real positive for your university experience!