Hey, everyone!

I thought this you be as good a time as ever to introduce myself, i’m Emma, a 20 year old second year Biomedical Engineer here at the University of Surrey in Guildford!

I am both British and Palestinian, I was born in Jerusalem and lived there up until Uni crept round the corner :p if that isn’t some kind of mixed background, I’m not sure what is! I always find that people who ask where I’m from, end up a little confused trying to piece together the whole picture! We’ve all been there haven’t we *sigh* #InternationalPeople. I was enrolled into the French system ever since the age of 3 and followed it through up until the age of 18 during which I branched into the science stream. You can imagine my dislikes of some of those subjects… however, there, I made some of the best friendships!

I had no idea what University was going to turn out to be and how I would adjust to it. Ever since I could remember, I always wanted to become a Vet, little did I know how difficult the course was! Then came the summer where all hell broke loose which meant my sisters dragging me out of bed each and every morning to help me figure out what courses I was interested in. I was always made to call up university admissions to ask questions about the course. I’d try to get one of my sisters to call on my behalf seens as we all have identical voices! However, it turned out to be a great practice and confidence boaster. .

The thought of going to University in a different country was nerve wracking for me even though I have family there. Back home, I never used public transport as mum or dad would drive me to school while blasting some tunes in the car before hitting a hard two hours of maths or philosophy at 8 in the morning…YIKES! There were so many things to think of, like opening a bank account, washing, cooking, studying, working out, socialising, commuting and… it’s never ending!  I was mostly afraid of making friends in such a male dominated environment as engineering. I feared not finding any girls, but I was lucky enough to get along with the only other girl in my group! Despite that, the entire class bonded as a whole. We’d go bowling at the Spectrum, walk around in town and explored all corners of the university.

I don’t know about you guys but before coming to university, for me, a library was a small as two combined classrooms. When I got here and found out that the library had 5 floors and student support and much more… let me tell you, I practically spend the entirety of my time in the library. That probably sounds like I hibernate in there, don’t worry I don’t! How can I when the university offers beautiful grounds! *wink wink nudge nudge* *cough cough* DUH… THE LAKES ON CAMPUS!

THAT’S ME! By one of the main campus lakes this year😊

I didn’t have a smooth transition from School to a first year at University. Before results came out, I applied through UCAS to my five choices for Biomedical Engineering and received conditional offers from all: University of Surrey (firm choice), University of Reading (back up), University of Kent, Loughborough University and lastly the University of Sheffield. I didn’t pass my mathematics exams but luckily the University of Surrey offered to enrol me onto their Engineering and Physical Sciences Foundation year which would then lead onto my first year there in biomedical Engineering.

That was one of the best decision I had ever made! I managed to adjust nicely as the teaching was in small classrooms of 13 students. I felt more at ease with the course focusing on pure maths, applied maths, physics and English.

With a lightly filled timetable, I was able to explore the University, the small but unique Guildford town centre and much more!

Hope you have enjoyed my reminiscing section haha, see you next week!