Hey! Hi! Hello!

My name is Lianri van Schalkwyk and I am one of the South African International Ambassadors here at the University of Surrey. Welcome to the Surrey Meets Africa blog and it’s nice to meet you 🙂. 

I was born in Pretoria, spent a couple of years there and then my family and I moved to Dubai. Dubai has been my home for some time now, and it is where I completed my high school career. I graduated from an American school with a diploma in the International Baccalaureate. 

In September of 2018, I was ready to move to the UK as I was due to begin University. I had decided to do the International Foundation year in Life Sciences at the University of Surrey in preparation for my degree in Biomedical Sciences. The Foundation year was incredible. I got to experience University life, find my footing in Guildford and made some of my best friends before even starting my actual degree! The tutors on the Foundation year were incredibly supportive and understood the struggles of being a teenager in a completely foreign country. 

The Foundation year provided me with incredible opportunities that I probably wouldn’t have been able to achieve without being at the University of Surrey. During my Foundation year, I earned a scholarship for my first year of Biomedical Science, I applied to become a Student Life Mentor and I travelled around the UK during the various vacation periods we got throughout the Academic year. 

During September of 2019, I flew back to the UK as I was finally ready to start my degree in Biomedical Science. I was thrilled! It was my time to start the degree that I am so passionate about. I knew it was going to be challenging, but I did not know how rewarding it was going to be. It was my first time, ever, being in a 200-seat laboratory and it was my first time working with lab equipment that most people only ever see in movies. 

In regards to my life at the University of Surrey, during my Foundation year I lived in Hazel Farm, which is off-campus accommodation. I loved that it felt like my little escape from the busy life of University. It was super quiet during the evenings, perfect for those late night study sessions and a perfect backdrop for the couple of times we got snow that year. Hazel Farm is where I met some of my best friends and fell in love with life in Guildford. During my first year of Biomedical Science, I lived in on-campus accommodation in Surrey Court. This was completely different to life in Hazel Farm. All of a sudden, I was a stone’s throw away from my lecture theatres, the library and the amenities offered on campus.

Now, a bit about me! I was born in May of 2000, which unfortunately for me means that I always have exams during my birthday in the Northern Hemisphere 😂. As I grew up in South Africa, I am fluent in Afrikaans and thanks to the demands of the International Baccalaureate diploma, I have an intermediate understanding of French. According to my parents, I grew up being quite creative and artistic, which I think has translated quite well into my teenage and adult life, as I still enjoy a nice afternoon drawing and painting. I was always quite set on becoming a doctor throughout high school, but since starting my degree in Biomedical science, I have fallen in love with working in a lab and “behind the scenes” of medicine so to speak. 

I hope you have enjoyed getting to know me a little, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon 🙂

Good luck and stay safe, 
Lianri