I studied Travel and Tourism at Newcastle College. I'm very lucky because I got to go on quite a few holidays when I was younger and have always loved seeing and exploring new places. I felt comfortable on campus and loved how close to home and town the University Centre is, so I decided to step up to a degree. The FdA has the add on of events management, which was another one of my interests, so it seemed like the perfect fit. 

About halfway through my second year of college my lecturer, Tim, told me to check out the University Centre. In my one-to-one, he told me about the degree which he described as very different to my Level 3 course. I already knew most of the lecturers and staff too. I'm already comfortable and I'm not a big fan of change, so the same environment made the move to higher education a lot easier and less stressful.  

I knew I wasn’t ready to go into full-time work, so my mum persuaded me to go and do something I enjoyed for my degree. Even if I don't go into travel or tourism, a degree will open doors for me in the future and give me the transferrable skills I need.  

Since starting my degree I’ve learned more about other areas I could take my career in too such as events management or marketing. I never would have known that’s a possibility without studying for my degree. So yeah… thanks, mum! 

At other universities, the lecture rooms and classes are massive. As the class sizes are smaller here, we have a lot more one-to-one support with our lecturers which is brilliant. 

I use the Turnbull Suite a lot. There are computers and seating for studying and it's also close to the refectories and classrooms. The tenth floor of Parsons is good too because there are a lot more computers if you want to work with friends on projects. 

I do enjoy the social media side of it. I've just done a presentation where we had a make up our own product and sell it - I did mine for Virgin Atlantic and I made a first-class cabin because they don’t have one in real life. 30% of my grade was on social media marketing so I had to do a lot of research. It was interesting because social media is so up-and-coming and my generation loves social media.  

My mum. I’m an only child and my mum has always had a very strong work ethic. She used to work for Parkdean Resorts, so I guess tourism has always been around me! 

They're lovely. Gail my lecturer is really helpful, she advised me to speak to an Academic Coach and apply for a bursary which has helped pay for transport and food when I’m on campus. Gail is always supportive, she’s helped build my confidence and made me not afraid to ask questions. 

Last semester, everyone had picked a place in the UK to do a Destination Management project on. Our lecturer, Gail, had found out all the places we were researching and brought in food from those places, like Cornish pasties for Cornwall, black pudding for Lancashire, Yorkshire puddings for Yorkshire. She's really invested in our learning and making her lessons fun and engaging. 

It's great! The nightlife is good. You can get a lot of student discounts in places such as the MetroCentre too so I do enjoy that! I quite like the beaches near Newcastle too.  

For one of our assignments, we do a portfolio reflecting on what we've done in past assignments to show our progression, which we’ve been advised to take to interviews. Also, as part of the course, we have to do a lot of presenting which has helped me build my confidence with public speaking.  

With the transferrable skills I’ve learned, my plans so far would be going into real estate. I think learning about management, doing presentations and organisation will really help me in that career, but honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve still got a few years to figure it out! 

1. Make sure to do your research outside of classroom hours.
2. Use time wisely and make a schedule.
3. Start your assignments straight away.
4. The HE Hub is great for food.
5. Apply for a bursary!