Imogen Booker

• Year of graduation: 2024

I was drawn to the English BA (Hons) course at UON, as opposed to other universities, mostly because of the choice of modules. They spanned such an expansive time period and included a diverse and extensive range of writers, which stood out from other English courses that I looked at. As well as the course content, the teaching environment was a draw for me – the academic team promised small class sizes and seminar style lessons, which was a learning environment I knew would fit my style of learning best.

On the academic side, I absolutely loved the range of authors, books and themes that were covered on the course. I fell in love with authors I hadn’t read before and learnt about literary theories I’d never heard of such as queer theory and ecocriticism. Also, the learning space that the lecturers create is one which is incredibly engaging and often very fun. Because the class sizes are small and the lectures are taught in a seminar style, there was room for everyone to be involved in discussions, and there was never any worry about saying the wrong thing or asking a silly question.

The English team genuinely care about their students and want to ensure you are academically and personally successful, so they were happy to help with anything – from essay crises to personal problems. This means that the environment you learn in is intellectually stimulating as well as friendly, guaranteeing you leave with a great degree and bags of confidence in your own abilities (you will also be in very high demand for pub quiz teams!)

Aside from the course itself, in my third year I took on the role of course ambassador. This meant I was involved with assisting lecturers to deliver seminars and answer questions from prospective new students during Open Days and Discovery Days. I also got to teach university-style classes to local primary and secondary school children to show them that learning at university is different to school and is very interesting.

I’m now studying a master’s degree in Victorian Studies, with ambitions to do a PhD in nineteenth century literature. I also work as a Learning Support Assistant within a school. In this role, I teach English literature classes to KS3 and KS4 students. Gaining classroom experience in the course ambassador role enhanced my career prospects as it gave me confidence to apply for the role and meant I could demonstrate that I worked efficiently and with enthusiasm for the subject – qualities which the interviewers found desirable.

As a result of my degree studies, I’ve gained an ability to think critically and to confidently articulate my thoughts. These are incredible skills which I use in both my personal and professional life. I also have much more confidence in myself and my own abilities now.

Going into my undergraduate degree as a mature student with years out of education meant I had to quickly overcome the difficulties of not being aware of the academic conventions of referencing or how to write essays in a formal manner. During my time at the University of Northampton, I developed an aptitude for essay writing, consistently producing work in an efficient and timely manner, enabling me to sustain a high-grade profile throughout the course. All these skills are now employed in my master’s degree.

If I could give any advice to undergraduates interested in this career path, I’d say to always be super curious and enthusiastic about the thing you enjoy learning about the most.

If I had three wishes, one of those would be to do the English degree at UON again.