We caught up with second year student, Oliwia Kwiatkowska to find out all about her experience as a Psychology student at Queen Mary.
Why did you choose to study your course at Queen Mary?
I chose to study psychology at Queen Mary because of the range of modules on offer. What particularly drew me in was the wide range of modules available to select in third year which I’m really looking forward to picking and studying next year! Some modules that I am most looking forward to are ‘Cyberpsychology’ and ‘Nature, Nurture and Mental Health’.
I also fell in love with Queen Mary as a university instantly for many reasons. Mainly, I love the fact it is a campus university in London (a rarity!). I felt that it would create a nice community feel, which has definitely been true in my experience, as well as being incredibly convenient. I also love the diversity of Queen Mary in terms of individual experiences and backgrounds. I have met so many people here who have experiences so similar but equally so different to mine which has been nice in creating communities and networks.
What has been the highlight of your course (so far)?
The highlight of my course has been participating in research. It’s not everyday that you get to be experimented on and with research being such a big part of psychology, it’s cool to see what it’s like from a participant’s perspective! Some of the research I have participated in has also been third year dissertation research projects which has been useful for sparking ideas and learning about how it will look when I come to do it next year (ahh!).
I also loved a group project that I did in first year in the ‘Emotions’ module. We were assigned to random groups (which meant meeting lots of new people on the course!) and we created a video about any emotion that we wanted. I loved having this creative freedom and it was really nice to meet other people on my course.
How have you found the support services and the campus and facilities?
The services that Queen Mary provides on campus have been really useful. For example, one part of the ‘Essential skills’ module in my first year involved creating and submitting a CV, cover letter and example email requesting work experience as an assignment which was led by the careers service. Their advice really helped me to transform my CV which has made me feel a lot more confident about my future career.
I also practically live at the library! They have recently added on two extra floors and refurbished most of the library so it has a more modern feel to it. It’s 24/7 and has so many different facilities within it such as group study spaces, individual cubicles and smaller rooms that you can book – hence why I live there!
I have been involved in several societies during my time here too. I was on the committee for the LGBT+ society last year as Welfare Rep so I was involved in the planning and running of events as well as working to create a space for queer students at Queen Mary. I have also started pole fitness society this year which is something I am trying for the first time and I am loving it! Being part of societies has helped me to make so many of my friends at university and it has allowed me to experience new things which is helped by how friendly, open and encouraging societies feel.
Tell me a little about any internships/work experience opportunities or part-time jobs/research projects you have taken part in.
In the ‘Essential skills’ module in first year, they provided us with lots of support in terms of careers. We created CVs and cover letters and they also brought in various people from different fields in psychology, including an educational psychologist and a clinical psychologist. This gave me an insight into the actual variety of options as well as detailed information about what the jobs entail and how to get there with my degree. This helped me to realise what career pathway that I wanted to go down after university which is to become a teacher!
I have been a student ambassador at QM for 2 years now. This involves delivering campus tours, supporting during campus visits, attending careers/HE/UCAS fairs representing QM and various other work opportunities. I also moved up to being a senior ambassador last year which involves delivering talks at schools and leading sessions. This has been by far my favourite work experience as it involves many unique jobs and I have also been able to meet so many different students who also study a variety of things at QM. The strangest thing I have probably done is doing a photoshoot for the prospectus! You might even be able to spot me throughout if you pick up a copy at an event on campus! This job has helped my confidence a lot and has helped me to improve my public speaking skills. Being a student ambassador is a great option to have alongside studying as you can pick and choose when you work so I would definitely recommend applying no matter where you choose to go for university!
I have also become a PASS mentor this year. PASS stands for Peer Assisted Study Support and it is where second and third year students volunteer their time to support first year students on a variety of things including essay writing, referencing and careers support. As we were in these students’ shoes not too long ago, our advice and support is particularly helpful as we can relate with each other and the setting of the sessions is very informal and relaxed.
Do you feel like QMUL is diverse and inclusive, if so why and how has this impacted your time here?
Queen Mary is definitely very diverse and inclusive. I am a care experienced and estranged student and come from a low-income background, so I have come from many hardships and a background where, statistically, not many people progress to higher education. QM has felt very welcoming to me, however, and has a lot of support for students in my position. This includes having an independent student community which is a social community run by Advice and Counselling. They run regular social events for us which has created a great network at QM. They also provide lots of great advice and support such as financial, mental health and career support.
I am also part of the LGBTQ+ community and feel that there is a good established community at QM, mainly through the LGBT+ society. The society itself is very diverse and inclusive of people from various cultures and religions which I have seen create tight-knit sub-communities as a result which is great to see and to have been a part of helping to create! There are many different spaces created for various different communities at the uni, supported by the Students Union through societies, events and celebrations for heritage months.
What is a top tip you’d give new students/students applying to university?
Come to university prepared to know what to expect but also don’t stress out about it! Your first year is the time to learn about university and adapt to it so if you make any mistakes or fall behind, that is absolutely fine – more of your peers will be in your exact same situation than you’d think. No one can stay on top of everything all the time, life happens, so just take each day as it comes and eventually you will blink and you’ll be doing your dissertation. Enjoy university, you will miss it!