Jessica Wright

• Year of study: Three
• Length of course: Three years

I didn’t see myself as someone who would go to university. I know it’s a cliché as I’ve heard many people say the same thing, but I couldn’t wait to finish education.

I remember being in college when one of my tutors spoke about university and their own journey of being a UON student. The entire class agreed that we would never attend our local university, yet I found myself choosing UON as one of my UCAS options. I attended many interviews with other universities and listened to students’ experiences about how great these places were, yet there was no part of me that felt the same way about attending any of them.

My interview at UON was the last one – there was something about that day on campus – seeing students, talking to staff, even the receptionist in the Learning Hub who directed me to the interview area was great. I felt calm and while I was waiting for my interview, I reflected on that day in the college classroom and how I regretted feeling that way about UON. That was when I decided I was going to be a University of Northampton student. The University made me feel safe and supported, and knowing I felt no initial panic about attending university for the first time since starting the process confirmed to me that I was good enough to be a university student.

My current career aspiration is to work in a role that supports children and young people with educational disadvantages access equal education opportunities. I feel this reflects mostly on the experiences I had during my own schooling, but also the significant gaps within the current education system that means it doesn’t provide quality education to many students with any form of education inequality. The Education Studies course continuously allows me to reflect on the type of educator I aspire to become – I hope that employers will appreciate that my education knowledge is broad because of my degree and that I offer a unique outlook on a range of educational matters.

My personal development has also benefitted as I’ve gained the confidence to do anything I feel passionate about. This year I nominated myself to be the Student Representative for my year group, something I would never have done previously, but my confidence and self-esteem has grown, and I know this will transfer with me as I move into employment.

The main skill I’ve adopted from my time as a student is connecting with others from different cultures and communities, which I reflected on during my second year with a trip to Atlanta, USA. Meeting other professionals in the global education field, as well as members of the community and students in all these practices, provided me with the fundamental belief that much of the learning in education comes from the interactions you have with others. I didn’t appreciate how powerful networking could be until this trip and I know now that whatever my future career turns out to be, I’ll take the time to talk to others and learn how to develop, improve and collaborate effectively as an educator.

During my course, I’ve been quite fortunate to have had two incredible work-based learning opportunities. Both have shaped me in different ways and provided me with valuable knowledge, but my second year placement is one that I remember dearly as it shaped my future career aspirations. I was based in a college provision for young people aged between 16-25 years with special educational needs and disabilities, with the aim of building foundational workplace skills and supporting all students into paid employment. My role was to observe key members of staff from the teaching team, as well as job coaches who assisted with the practical support within the work experiences that were available to students. Also, as part of the expectations of my placement, I had to lead a learning opportunity for students that was beneficial to their own education.

There aren’t enough words to justify the depth of wisdom that I gained from this placement. Often there’s the perception that every school and college is the same, with the sole purpose of teaching students basic knowledge without catering for individual needs. This college was completely different – every student was treated like an individual and given the correct support. They were also given a range of work-based learning opportunities and fully supported in every transitional stage.

The placement enabled me to see how transformational it can be to put even the smallest effort into caring for an individual person’s needs and watch them flourish because they have been seen and valued for the first time in their education. I realised that students would respond to those who take the time to understand them as well as challenge them and this is something I look forward to implementing within my professional career.

The key skill that I developed during this time was my willingness to adapt for the benefit of each student. Although I could do this beforehand, I didn’t consider that I may have to adapt learning resources until I was in that environment. There were also communication variations I had to adapt, which I didn’t realise I did so fluently until leaving the setting. Some students had linguistic barriers, so I had to fully interpret every word that was spoken to me and adapt my own speech so that they understood me just as fluently. This wasn’t something I’d planned for, but my communication skills improved as a result. As I move forward after I graduate, I hope that employers will see that I have a foundation of technical skills learnt from my placement setting and confidence in my own abilities.

My tip on getting the most benefit from a placement is that doubt can hold you back from achieving what you want – but if you have a genuine interest in a specific part of education, networking with other professionals to gain access to these opportunities will be the biggest favour you can offer yourself. I also recommend going to a placement setting you wouldn’t have chosen for yourself, as these can be transformational and could inspire you to reconsider your career aspirations.

As you start your placement be yourself, be confident in your abilities, and don’t doubt yourself as the professional that you’re allowing yourself to become. Always ask for feedback on how you can improve and be honest with your own reflections on how you can challenge yourself to always be the best version of yourself.

The advice I would give to undergraduates interested in this career path would be to ask questions, no matter how small you believe them to be, as often other people have the same question, but no one is daring enough to be the first one to speak up.

My UON experience so far has been totally transformational.