I am a first-year student at the University of Bolton, studying Crime and Criminal Justice. The University of Bolton was my first choice as I did my research and noticed that a large student body was very multicultural and from what I’ve researched 25% of students came from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Upon my arrival at the university, I could see people with masks but even so, I was so happy to finally be at my campus, everyone was so friendly and helpful when I was asking to find facilities or the library. Staff were going out of their way to guide me and make sure I understood how everything functioned. I wanted to familiarise myself with the facilities, so I asked for student ambassadors to take me around. They were very happy to do so and that gave me a great boost of confidence to tackle any upcoming event or group project.
When it was announced that we should stay home due to the pandemic, I got phone calls and emails from the university stating that they would do their absolute best to help us through these difficult times, and that is what they did. They were quick to respond to emails and concerns, in addition, the online Zoom calls were not as awkward as I thought they would be because once again teachers and staff did their absolute best to make the classes interesting and interactive.
The engagement scheme #UniAsItShouldBe provided me with £150 in my first semester as a cashless bursary that didn’t have to be paid back, which brought tears to my eye. It was a great gift for me to buy my books and prints for the first semester. The only thing that I had to do was complete tasks and quizzes on how to reference and how to use Moodle; the online software used for timetables and information for my course. Not to mention how great the Life Lounge scheme is, they provided me with support and counselling, helped me tackle my mental health problems and tailored my experiences with their resources.
I look forward to everything Bolton University will provide me with, for my academic and employability career. The people at the University of Bolton gave me hope and love and something to look forward to in my future and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
