"Queen Mary University of London has been the most important driving force behind my success," says final-year student Sara Ayub Khan Majles. After moving from Belgium to the UK with her family, Sara discovered her passion for mathematics and explored her skills while making the most of the many resources offered at Queen Mary. Thanks to the QMentoring programme, she also gained insight into the field of data science, which perfectly combined her interest in programming languages with her natural affinity to mathematics. Read Sara's success story!
In 2010, my parents had to make one of their hardest decisions, which was to migrate from Belgium to the UK with my whole family. While they were looking for a better education for myself and my siblings, they also believed that studying in the UK would give me better job prospects. That’s how I went from not even knowing the basics of the English language to completing a mathematics undergraduate degree in one of the most prestigious universities in the world. It was quite a journey and one of the best and most successful chapters of my life. Queen Mary University of London has been the most important driving force behind my success. The staff members from the School of Mathematical Sciences, as well as the professors and the careers team at Queen Mary, were always there for me to provide guidance and support when I had to make crucial academic and career-related decisions. Queen Mary has helped me to choose a career path that I wouldn’t otherwise have discovered by myself. Modules are designed to improve my academic abilities as well as tailoring my study to my interest in programming languages. In addition, studying QMUL Model modules ameliorated my professional development.
Upon the completion of my second year of university, I was still unsure about the field of work I wanted to join in the future. However, I had the zest for solving convoluted mathematical problems, which inspired me to pursue a career that involved working with numbers. With this mindset, I joined the QMentoring scheme where I was paired with alumni of Queen Mary who were professional data scientists working for well-known companies like PwC and Lloyds. This mentorship has helped me make better-informed career choices, build a professional network, and more importantly, I gained insight into the field of data science, which perfectly combined my interest in programming languages with my natural affinity to mathematics. Currently, I have been offered a place to study MSc Data Science, one of the most competitive courses at King’s College London.
Besides academic achievements, I am also proud of my contribution to the community by taking part in a mentoring programme with Brightside to help college and GCSE students from disadvantaged backgrounds. I provided guidance and support to improve their academic and professional profiles as well as assisting them with their university applications. The outcomes of this project were very fruitful. Brightside mentees were three times more likely to access higher education than their peers from similar backgrounds.
I cannot thank Queen Mary enough for its support and the opportunities it has provided me with during my undergraduate studies.
Sara Ayub Khan Majles, BSc Mathematics with Finance and Accounting (2020)