Journal 1 – A Tale of Two Trips: Reflecting on University Visits and International Student Guidance
Sitting in a departure lounge seems to be my default place to pass time and reflect on recent events. I am at the end of a two-week trip with both companies, offering an interesting comparison between my work.
Week One: Exploring UK Universities with Bermudian Students
First week spent with a school group who flew in from Bermuda to visit universities in England, the Midlands and South. It was a very interesting week and a nice mix of types of institution.
Stoke, Coventry, and the Institutions of Britain
We started the week up in Stoke at Staffordshire University. A totally new place for me and I was struck by how embedded it is in its community. While the university buildings were a mix of new and not so new there were plenty of reminders of Stoke’s industrial past with a huge number of old miners’ cottages for rent to the student market. What was most noticeable about them was the front doors being quite a high step up from the street. One of the accompanying counsellors queried that and all I could think of was that no one ever used them, back in the day people would come in the back door and sit in the kitchen, rarely if ever going into the front room, which was reserved for special occasions.
DeMontfort followed and then on to Coventry which was again a new one for me. I was very impressed with the facilities and links to the town again. Especially the Engineering department which had a harrier jump jet sitting in the main lab space – can’t be too many universities that have that for the students to work on. From Coventry we went on to Oxford, then Bristol then Southampton, venerable Russell group institutions and they gave a fine account of themselves. We finished the week at the University of Kent with a lovely visit and, despite the rain, a nice evening in Canterbury.
Week Two: Morrisby Testing and Student Dreams in Abu Dhabi
Week two saw me out in Abu Dhabi conducting Morrisby testing and feedback interviews at the American Community School in their brand-new campus. It was lovely to see the new campus which had been spoken about for a number of years and to see some long-term friends who are now working there in the counselling department. It was nice to see the enthusiasm of the students when viewing their reports and to hear positive comments regarding how useful the meetings had been and how they were looking forward to exploring further over the coming months and years all the opportunities they seem destined for.
“International students take a huge leap of faith when applying to university far from their home base; to work in this field to take just a little of the mystery and stress out of this leap is indeed a privilege.”
As I reflect, I am reminded again of how important it is for students to be informed about the choices they are making, whether for possible future careers, IB/AP/A level subject choices or where they might be a good fit for their university studies. International students take a huge leap of faith when applying to university far from their home base; to work in this field to take just a little of the mystery and stress out of this leap is indeed a privilege.
