BSc (Hons) Paramedic Science

Rhod

I am often asked by colleagues and other student why did I want to do Paramedic Science. This is one question I am yet to actually have an answer to. This did make the interviews for the programme more difficult, as this was a question I was asked at all of them. I don’t think there is just one reason I chose this programme, and although difficult to explain I just knew it was what I wanted to do.

I began my journey in to this career path at only 10 years old when I became a cadet member at my local St. John Ambulance division. At this point I had no intention of becoming a Paramedic partly because I didn't really know what one was but more because I was really interested in cars and wanted a career as a Mechanic. As my time with St. John progressed I began to gain skills in Basic Life Support and Basic First Aid. Once I had gained these skills I was fortunate enough to be able to shadow a fellow colleague who was a Paramedic. I was allowed to attend events providing First Aid to injured or ill members of the crowd. This early clinical expose gave me a great sense of pride and achievement, and in turn I became more interested in Volunteering with St. John. Once I reached 16 I was allowed to attend motor sport events, including the stock car banger racing and the speedway motorbikes (which have NO brakes).

Now my attention was beginning to turn back to what was I going to do with my life? I no longer wanted to work as a mechanic having completed my school work experience programme. However I needed to have some focus as I was about to choose my A levels, and the pressure was on. My family wanted to become a Doctor, and I went along with this taking Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. I really did not enjoy my A levels except Maths, Biology at A level is predominantly studying plants, and Chemistry just went straight in one ear and out the other. However my family still wanted me to be a Doctor, and applying to UCAS was fast approaching.

Before I applied I decided I needed more work experience, this was a very difficult process I was only 17 at the time and most organisations would not take me on. I also found that a common issue was around patient confidentiality which would prevent me from shadowing a GP. However I gained some work experience working in my local Pharmacy, this I found gave an interesting insight in to patients living with long term complex medical conditions. My continuing development with St. John had introduced to the role of a Paramedic, and career in acute healthcare.

So I wrote my personal statement to apply to do Paramedic Science because I wanted to continue in to a career as a Paramedic. I didn't really consider my option when applying and in fact chose my universities on geographic locations. I chose Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Plymouth as I wanted to live by the sea and Greenwich because it is London based. I would not recommend this method to other applicants you should really view each university and see how the course is delivered. I was fortunate enough to get interviews at Greenwich and Plymouth, which I personally felt if I could get an interview this would be my best chance to get an offer. I arrived on the day of my interview at Plymouth, I personally did not like the campus or the programme but I was offered a place. I then attended my interview for Greenwich at the Medway campus, and immediately fell in love with the campus and the programme. Although I had an offer for Plymouth, at this point all I wanted to receive an offer for Greenwich. Then one day whilst out working for St. John an email from UCAS arrived notifying my application status had changed, this meant Greenwich had made their decision. However I was on my phone and only had limited internet access, I took me over 2 hours to log on to UCAS track, needless to say I was pretty stressed when it finally loaded. So that was it I had an offer from the University I wanted to go to, I was so happy. Only thing left, learn how to drive a van (oh and pass my exams). 

BSc (Hons) Maths, Computing and Statistics

Imrana

Hi, my name is Imrana, I just completed the first year of BSc Maths, Computing and Statistics. I really enjoyed the first year of Maths because it was a different challenge to the one I expected. I thought that I would be stuck in my room all the time, staring at Pythagoras and working out what he wrote; when in fact; we just expanded on things that we already learnt at college.

From the start of college till the end, time flew by and before I knew it, I was applying for universities and I wasn't sure if I was ready to go yet. However, I heard a lot of good things about Greenwich whilst I was at college. People told me that the lecturers were very helpful and the facilities were great. At first I was reluctant to apply but eventually it made more sense and I decided it was time to go. Not long after, we started and within the first week I realised that they were actually being serious. It was surprising to see how much help they give you with course work and tutorials. Course works were given to us months in advance, which was helpful because it gave us a lot of time to get everything right.

I knew what I was getting myself into beforehand, since I knew people that did Maths at Greenwich, including my sister. When I saw how much hard work and effort was expected in order to achieve the grades, I thought I would fail. But eventually, it became obvious that you can’t get anywhere without hard work, which I was prepared to do. And you had to stay positive, because giving up before you've even tried would guarantee failure.

A normal week in first year Maths involved four, two-hour lectures and four one-hour tutorials. We had to go in three days a week and had two group projects, both in which we had to write a report and do a presentation. Course works were generally easier than exams, simply because we had more time. However, if you did them properly, then exams would be relatively straightforward as well.

There are not many institutions that are prepared to help students as much as Greenwich. I would tell anybody to do Maths at Greenwich, because everything from the lecturers and the facilities and support that is given to students is of a very high standard. 

BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS

Adam

Hi! My name is Adam and I’m just entering my third year of Primary Education with QTS. I’ll be honest I never thought university was going to be part of my plan. I thought Greenwich would be great for me because trust me if you can teach here you can teach anywhere. Whenever I go back to my home town of Swindon I love to see the look of fear in other teachers eyes at the thought of teaching kids from South East London. In all honesty though the idea that all the schools around here are run down with awful behaviour is just plain wrong. It’s the variety of schools that you will come in contact with that really helps you to hone your teaching skills. In my first year I had a placement in Chislehurst which is one of the most affluent areas of the country and in second year my placement was in a far more deprived area. Personally I didn't find one group harder to teach that the other, each just presented their own set of challenges. During placement you really do have to work hard as you’ll be expected to begin teaching groups or even the whole class from week one. It is nerve racking to begin with but the more you teach the easier it gets. In the end even teaching music on a Friday afternoon won’t seem that bad. The endless lesson plans do take their toll during the evenings but as someone who’s tried to blag it and teach lessons on the fly, you will be found out and you will look like an idiot.

The course itself is split up just like being back in primary school with all the subjects taught separately with a few other ones thrown in for good measure. All of them very hands on. In the later years of the degree you can even specialise in your favourite subjects. The essays are hard and get a lot harder as the years go on but if you prepare properly you’ll everything you could ever need will be in the library which is only a few minutes’ walk from Avery hill campus. But be warned don’t think that handing in an A level standard piece of work will be accepted any more, the jump in standard is huge and you are left a lot more to your own devises to complete your essays. On the upside though this means that the work feels a lot more like your own personal work that reflects the effort that you've put into it.

I especially loved hearing about all the other opportunities that there are for people with this degree beyond teaching in a school. There are opportunities to be consultants in other countries and as well as in museums and observatories.

On the whole I've loved the first few years here and the bad times you learn from and the lecturers (as well as your mates) are always there to help you.

BSc (Hons) Film and TV Production

Nell

Hi. I’m Nell. Or Nellie. Or ‘The Nellster’. Or Neil. Or idiot. I have many nicknames because people are incapable these days of not using one, but I prefer being called just plain old Nell. Not the most interesting of names but hey, there’s a film with my name as the title with Liam Neeson in it, who is awesome, so that makes up for it.

So… my experience with the course. I’ll begin with how I decided to become a student at the University of Greenwich. I am obsessed with film; I am basically a living encyclopaedia when it comes to the subject. You know when you’re watching a film or television programme and you’re thinking ‘Oh who is that actor? I know his face, what has he been in?!’ I could tell you exactly what films he has been in, when they were released, what his next film is, who is he is married to, his height, his date of birth… It’s almost scary my knowledge because it would literally be with any actor/actress/director from about the 1930’s to today. Because of this, people started suggesting to me, especially my mother, that maybe I should do a degree in film? Just maybe?

Well, I was a‘late decider’. I took a gap year simply because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Towards the end of the year I quickly made the decision to actually go to university, but because I left it so late I applied to 5 universities without going to the Open Days. I got unconditionals from all of them because I already had my A levels, so off I went to go look at them. 4 of them were absolutely dire, like seriously, I was starting to panic that I wouldn’t go to university because they were all so awful… Until I went to the Greenwich Open day. Within 10 minutes of the welcome lecture I knew I was coming here, and thank goodness I did. The campus is beautiful, the TV studio is amazing and the course leaders have so much knowledge in film and TV that this degree has been a blessing for me.

The great thing about this degree is that if you don’t know exactly what route you want to go down, for example either a producer, a camera operator, a vision mixer etc., the course will actually help you to decide because you have a chance to try every role possible within film and television… and if you do know what route to go down, there are many opportunities for you to work solely within your chosen topic, such as being a camera operator for other peoples films etc.

There are a great number of choices as well; before each year you can choose what topics to complete for that year. I personally chose sound design and post production design and I thoroughly enjoyed both of those choices because they taught me how to use new computer software I had never seen before, such as Final cut pro, adobe audition etc. and now I have a far greater knowledge in film technology. In my second year I also chose to do BBC production which has been my favourite course to date. For a week we went to the BBC training programme where we created our own TV quiz show. The whole experience was amazing and I learnt so much from it… and the cafeteria has the best bread and butter pudding in the world ever. Like, ever.

So essentially, this course has a wide range of choices for you to choose from, from 3D Animation to Industry work experience and after completing this degree the world is your oyster (sorry for being corny) simply because you have the qualifications and experience needed to get into the industry, and throughout the 3 years you have opportunities to apply for work experience; I myself have worked as a camera assistant at the Olympics, worked at a radio station and was a runner at the BBC proms and there is even a man on our course who was recently a runner on the new ‘Thor’ film!

BA (Hons) Business Studies

Abbey

Hey! My name is Abbey and I have just completed my second year of BA Hons Business Studies at the University of Greenwich. During my first year of sixth form I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do when I finished so I decided that the best option for me would be to go to university to further my studies. The only problem was I did not know which subject to study or which university to attend. I chose to study Business Studies as this was a topic which really interested me while studying my A levels and also because of the wide range of jobs and opportunities available upon graduation. The University of Greenwich was my first choice as it is local to my house, about a 20 minute drive and also because of its beautiful surroundings.

The context of the course in the first year was very broad and covered a range of topics including business planning and development, business processes and organisational behaviour. Although you have to study five different subjects some of them are interrelated which helps when it comes writing your assignments. The lecturers and tutors are very friendly and are always happy to help when it comes to writing your assignments and studying for exams. The first year prepares you for your second two years and gives you an idea of how to handle your work load and meet deadlines on time. In your second year you study a number of new topics including project management and operations management. The second year is a lot more demanding than the first year, although there are fewer exams there are more assignments. However, some of these assignments include working within a group to create an assignment or a presentation which spreads the work load.

Now going into my third year, I had the option to choose which topics I wanted to study. I decided to choose advanced project management and international business management alongside two other compulsory topics and my dissertation. I am a little apprehensive about going into my third year of university due to the heavy workload; especially the 10,000 word dissertation on a topic of my choice. However, I know that all the hard work and dedication from the last three years will be worth it on graduation day. 

BSc (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Psychology

Ngozi

Hey, my name is Ngozi and I've recently completed my third (and final!) year of my BSc Criminology and Criminal Psychology degree. People always say that time flies and despite being able to remember each year quite clearly, it really doesn't feel like it was all that long ago that I was stumbling about campus trying in vain to find the Stephen Lawrence building for my orientation.

It was quite dramatic for me, choosing my degree programme, because I had to explain to my careers advisor why I was so interested in studying criminals and horrific crimes without sounding like I was training to become a criminal myself. She still seemed rather dubious when I left the room so I don't think I was all that successful.

I chose Criminology and Criminal Psychology at Greenwich because it seemed to be the perfect blend of studying crime, studying criminal behavior and studying criminal thoughts and intentions. I'm a big asker of 'why's and I wanted to understand what makes people become criminals and why some appear to specialise in certain crimes and others commit a range of criminal acts.

Apart from the fundamental structure of the programme, I found myself drawn to the different modules and the freedom we were given to choose at least one elective per year. In particular, in first year, I was given the opportunity to study linguistics, a subject I had always been passionate about but had never truly pursued. It helped that all the courses seemed to have similar links and connections that made the topics easier to grasp and develop concepts around them.

The lecturers are incredibly knowledgeable so I can't stress enough how advantageous it would be to utilise that resource. Whilst the library is expansive, new concepts and ideas surrounding the fields of criminal psychology and criminology are constantly being developed so I would most definitely encourage you to subscribe to some online journals and spend some time reading through any new articles. Not only does it keep you in the loop but it gains some serious brownie points with lecturers - they remember the students who have something new to say! I really value all three years of my degree and will cherish the experiences and lessons I have learnt here.

Like most degree programmes, it primarily consists of a mixture of coursework and exams, however, individual courses may have their own assessment structure so it's best to be clear at the start of the year so can prepare. Some courses hold assessments during the year, at the end of term or at the end of the year so be sure to note down when the course begins when your assessments are likely to take place so that you don't find yourself studying like mad just before the start of Winter break!

One last piece of advice? Get a day planner! Whether you're planning on working part-time or otherwise, it's great for keeping track of lectures, tutorials, fresher's events, lecture readings, assessment deadlines or anything else. Without a doubt, having an academic diary was one of the most valuable things I had at my disposal as it provided structure to my time and let me know how to organise my days and subsequent weeks.

BA (Hons) Drama

Terry

Hey, my name is Terry and I am about to enter my third and final year of my BA Hons Drama course. I started drama when I went into year ten and picked my GCSE options, I only picked the course as an easy ride to a C+ but over time I began to really enjoy performing and learning about the art of performance. So after GCSE’s I took my BTEC in Performing Arts, which was the first time I had ever done any form of public singing and dancing which was quite scary and nerve wrecking to begin with and now I am a HUGE fan of dance, not so much singing, but I try.

When it came to picking my University degree, I didn't put much though behind it because I knew what I wanted to do, I wanted to perform. As for Universities I wanted to come to Greenwich because my friend in the year above me at college had gone on to Greenwich University and I had heard so many stories about the course and what she got up to that I wanted to come here as well. Due to the fact that I had taken a gap year, I already had my grades from my college BTEC so it was just a simple Unconditional offer, which I didn't mind as it meant I didn't have to sort it out through Clearing and leave it till the last minute, I could just accept and wait for the course to start.

When I began the course I immediately fell in love with one particular course, Making Theatre, this is a compulsory course in your first year, this course taught me so much about the world of the theatre that I didn't previously know. For example I had learnt how to rig a lighting system, how to use a sound system, how to create a prompt book and so much more. What this course does is allow the first years to become the technical crew for the third year productions (usually there is 5-7 separate third year shows). I was blessed to be placed as Stage Manager for a production for Fear and Misery of the Third Reich written by Bertolt Brecht, I was even luckier that this was the one third year production to be performed at Greenwich Theatre, so not only was I Stage Manager for a well acclaimed masterpiece of a script, I was also going to be the Stage Manager for a show performed at Greenwich Theatre, not bad for a first year student. Other roles within the technical crew included light technician, sound technical, prop master, set designer, costume designer, deputy stage manager, so there are a lot of opportunities for people with different abilities and different preferences. This course turned out to be my highest scored mark in the Drama course so far, so I was very proud of my work on the show. It’s because of this course and the help I got from the director as to why I now, in my third year, would like to go on to be the director in my own third year production. Other courses available for first year students include Early Stages, another compulsory course in which you will learn about the origins of theatre starting way back from Greek Theatre and leading up to Shakespearean theatre. The other two options that I chose were Writing for Stage and Screen and Introduction to Film Making, both were quite new to me and what I was used to so once again I learnt a lot of new information.

When second year came by I was quite excited once again by the options that I had chosen and the compulsory ones. This year was quite strange when it came to picking the modules, there was one compulsory course, which was Modern Stages, this followed on from Early Stages and we looked into more modern plays such as Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen and more recently Angels in America by Tony Kushner. This course was quite exciting as it gave me much more acting opportunities and the opportunity to learn more about the development of theatre over time. We then had a choice between two courses which were Physical Theatre and Applied Drama, we had to complete one of these modules as compulsory but we could then pick the other one as one of our option, this is what I chose to do. Physical Theatre was very, very fun and taught me a lot about the body and different styles of movement, as I said previously dance was something that I enjoyed a lot so Physical Theatre was a way to get me back into a movement based course. This module also resulted in a final 10-15 minute piece of physical theatre which I found was an amazing opportunity to have. With Applied Drama, we got to learn a lot more types of theatre, outside of the normal every day theatre surrounding. We learnt theatre for the Special Education Needs, Reminiscence Theatre, Theatre in Prisons, Museum Theatre and so much more. The final course I chose for my second year was Theatre Studies, this course was quite exciting as it broke down into four six-week courses, in this we learnt Eco Critical Theatre, Theatre Criticism, Plays by Women from 2000, and Revenge Tragedies, this course was quite fun as there was a lot of play reading, which I think we should be doing as Second Year degree students.

Now I am going into third year I am quite excited for the possibilities offered to me, as I said earlier I am hoping to direct a full scale third year production so all summer I have been researching plays that I would like to direct which is quite fun. The courses I am about to take in my third and final year are Other Stages and Contemporary British Theatre which are both compulsory. Other Stages is basically the weird and wonderful forms of theatre that don’t fit into either Early or Modern Stages, so I predict this course to be very fun and very strange at the same time. Contemporary British Theatre will be looking at quite recent plays from playwrights such as John Osborne, Sarah Kane, Caryl Churchill, Mark Ravenhill, Laura Wade and many more. The other options I have chosen are Drama Production, in which I will (hopefully get to direct) and have a team of actors and Work Placement, where I will get to put my knowledge to the test in a 100 hour work placement.

As of yet I haven’t decided where I would like my career path or my degree to take me but I can say that there is no way that I will ever give up on performance or the theatre, I feel that I have put everything into the past seven years studying Drama/Performing Arts at GCSE level, BTEC level and now University level. So hopefully you will see me on TV or on Stage one day, who knows.