Throughout school, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do once I left.
This uncertainty was reflected in my broad choice of A-Level subjects: Art and Design, Biology, English Literature, and an EPQ in Psychology. Of these, Art was undoubtedly my favourite subject and consistently my highest grade, but I didn’t really consider it to be a realistic career path. Outside of school teachers, I didn’t know anyone who had been to university. As well as this, having grown up in Workington, Cumbria, I certainly didn’t know anyone who had studied or worked in a creative field.
Worried about employability after graduation, I applied to study BSc Product Design at the University of Leeds. Product Design appealed to my artistic interests while also providing an avenue to a future STEM career, which I believed would be more secure than a purely creative one.
Within the first semester, I had come to realise that the course structure simply did not match my learning style or interests. Modules varied vastly in content. I could be studying materials for mechanical engineering in one session then practicing design sketching in the next. I found myself frustrated that the nature of the design course meant that topics were intended to be understood on a practical level but not on a deeper, more analytical one. Ultimately, I wanted to research topics that interested me greater detail, and I even missed the argumentative style of essay writing I had grown accustomed to in Sixth Form and GCSE. After reflecting on my motivations to study Product Design in the first place and my love for creating, I applied for a course transfer through my university to study BA Fine Art in the next academic year.
This was undoubtedly the right decision for me. I appreciated the creative freedom my new course encouraged and loved being among and collaborating with peers on creative projects. My third year was perhaps the highlight of my studies though, as my dissertation was my first ever opportunity to have complete control over researching a topic of my choosing in as much depth as I wanted, which was something I didn’t know could be so interesting.
Nevertheless, it took a while to settle in. With many peers being from major cities like London, it seemed they came with exposure to the industry, relevant experience, and the confidence, knowledge, and vocabulary to back it up. This was a major culture shock for me, and I assumed that I was at fault for this gap. It wasn’t until my last few months at Leeds that I put this aside and started applying through my university for things I had previously thought unreachable for someone like me. From this, I was commissioned to feature my artwork in Light Night Leeds, a city-wide arts and light festival, and spent a month living in the capital city of Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur – with a small group of fellow students as part of a global leadership programme. These memories are some of my most cherished from my time at university, and they wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t had the confidence to put myself forward for things.
My advice to anyone considering higher education:
- Don’t count yourself out of opportunities before even giving others the chance to.
- Check course pages and read about the required and optional modules and consider if they really match your interests and style of working. The same subject will be very different at one university compared to another so make sure to tailor your choice to you.
For more advice and helpful resources, you can contact Hello Future or research upcoming events in your area.