Termly Newsletter 2024 - 2025

September 2024

Q: Tell us about yourself. Where are you from?  

A: I’ve grown up in the Northeast of England all my life, in a small town called Guisborough. I attended state schools for secondary and sixth form both situated within my town.  I’m ethnically Chinese and the first in my family to go to University.   

Q: Why did you choose your course and why did you choose Durham? 

A: I actually didn’t decide on Economics until the end of Year 12 when I believed I was going to apply for business and/or management-related courses. I had always known I wanted to go down this route but wasn’t so sure about economics as I had little knowledge of it. At that time, I had applied for several summer schools focused on economics, with one of them being Durham’s Supported Progression (SP) scheme. Durham became my first-choice university because of SP, where previously I had not considered Durham at all. The experience I had there at the spring and summer residential showed me everything I needed to know about Durham, and I left the scheme confident that Durham was the place for me.  

I knew I wanted to keep the management side of the course with me, and Durham offered that perfect combination where I could study both. I also knew, as a first-generation university student in my family, that Durham was not far away from home. Initially, I thought I wasn’t bothered about the location of my university, but after attending the summer school, open days and offer holder days, it became apparent that it was a factor I needed to consider. As well as this, Durham offered more help, financially and otherwise, compared to other universities I had researched.  

Q: What societies and clubs are you involved in? What are your hobbies outside of your studies? 

A: In my first year, my participation in societies and clubs wasn’t the best, mainly because I was more focused on fighting against imposter syndrome. However, because of this, I’ve now found the confidence in being involved – people need different amounts of time to adjust and if it’s an entire year then that’s also okay! I now hold the position of Secretary in multiple societies, notably the Durham University Consulting Society, and within my college with the John Snow People of Colour Association and the JCR Welfare Committee. I have become an Open Day ambassador and will be a Fresher’s representative when the new students arrive. I also plan to reignite my interest in netball this coming year having not played since 2019 and I love to practice calligraphy and lettering and it’s been very useful for de-stressing. 

Q: How has your scholarship shaped your University journey? 

A: Being a scholarship recipient gave me the confidence boost I needed. What I mean by this is that without it, I’d still feel like I’m behind compared to my peers. With a subject like economics, most people knew roughly what they wanted to pursue and what they needed to do. However, for me that was not the case – I didn’t even understand what an internship really was. 

The scholarship meant that I could focus on regaining my confidence, and not worry about my finances and taking on a part-time job. My first year is now filled with memories of attending several networking opportunities, attending events with some of the biggest companies and giving back to society by mentoring and sharing my experiences.  

The scholarship helped to fund all of the events I went to including balls, formals and society events. Without this, I wouldn’t have even considered attending these given the cost and nobody should be in a position like that, particularly in their first year!  

Q: If you could give a piece of advice to incoming freshers, what would it be? 

A: Lots of people will feel imposter syndrome, but hardly anyone will voice it. Everyone will also face rejection; again, hardly anyone will voice it. Comparison is truly the thief of joy, especially at the point of a big transition as this, so do try and follow your own path!