When you first started your Master\u2019s degree here, how were you feeling?<\/strong><\/p>\nBoth incredibly proud that I\u2019d made it that far but also quite apprehensive that I\u2019d bitten off more than I could chew! I didn\u2019t do a dissertation at BA level so worried that I wouldn\u2019t know where to start.<\/p>\n
Fave thing about the course?<\/strong><\/p>\nIn the end it was actually the dissertation. Don\u2019t get me wrong it was long, HARD work and I still can\u2019t bring myself to re-read 6 years later but it felt like such an achievement, and it was so interesting seeing it through from start to finish. Being able to pick an area of interest and put your skills and knowledge to the test to create new knowledge was tough but rewarding. I had a really great supervisor who was knowledgeable, supportive and not afraid to challenge my assumptions and approach to help me do better.<\/p>\n
Any stand-out memories from your time at Kent?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019m going to go against the grain of the expected answer a bit here but bear with me. One of my strongest memories from my time at Kent is actually how ill my mum was and how isolating that felt at times. It\u2019s important to acknowledge that students often have hidden struggles, and I share this for two reasons.<\/p>\n
First, for anyone reading this who relates – know that you’re not alone. Talk to someone at the university. There are pastoral support staff, and provisions can be made to help you balance academic life with personal challenges.<\/p>\n
Second, for those who don\u2019t relate – be mindful of your friends and housemates. I had a reputation for throwing a lot of parties, and many wouldn\u2019t have guessed what I was dealing with behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
“University life can sometimes feel like a blur of socials, but making the effort to truly connect with people can lead to incredible lifelong friendships. Two of my uni friends will even be groomsmen at my wedding this summer!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
How was the careers\/employability support at Kent?<\/strong><\/p>\nBrilliant. The School of Politics and IR integrated employability into both courses and extracurricular activities. In one module, we had a series of talks from professionals working in conflict, including a diplomat, a journalist, a human rights protector, and even a soldier. It was invaluable in showing the many ways my degree could be applied.<\/p>\n
My first job after university\u2014as a policy and research assistant\u2014actually came about thanks to my academic tutor. She sent me a job ad to consider that I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d have been brave enough to apply for on my own, but I worried about letting her down by not going for it\u2026 and it led me to where I am today!<\/p>\n
What are you hoping to do next?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019d actually like to stay in my current role for a bit. It was the one-year anniversary last week! I\u2019m still learning so much about the sector and still building my relationship with our partners. I\u2019m currently managing quite a large donor project that will run for another year so I\u2019d like to at least see that out before thinking about what might come next.<\/p>\n
Advice for your first-year self?<\/strong><\/p>\nThree lessons:<\/p>\n
\n- As soon as practically possible, get yourself a week ahead with your reading. Life is full of unpredictable ups and downs; breakups, family illness, work commitments \u2013 it\u2019ll create a nice buffer so you don\u2019t fall behind.<\/li>\n
- Your lecturers\/seminar leaders are academics and they love an academic chat (some very much so!). Take your essay plans and questions to their office hours, engage with them and get their help. It can feel a bit odd at first but you are part of an academic community with them. Use this resource!<\/li>\n
- Use your gym membership!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We caught up with Callum MacLean, a dedicated alumnus sharing his inspiring journey from undergrad and postgrad studies here at Kent to a fulfilling career … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78674,"featured_media":6752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22910,37],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78674"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6738"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6772,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6738\/revisions\/6772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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