Staying in Bristol after I graduated certainly wasn’t part of my plan. I had the dream of a post-university gap yah – travelling around Australia and New Zealand for 6 months and generally just taking some time to catch my breath. After coming straight from school into university, I wanted that break. I needed that break.
With a brain freshly fried from my 10,000-word dissertation, you bet I was excited to pack those last boxes into my Mum’s car and drive home for the summer.
A month and a half later, I was back.
So, what went wrong? Or maybe, what went right?
I guess it’s important to know that while I was studying, I worked as an International Student Ambassador. The perfect job for any student – it mostly required me to give the occasional tour and welcome new international students throughout the months of September and January. In the end, it was this role that helped me get my current job as Global Lounge Assistant in the International Office. That, and the Temporary Staffing Service (TSS). One application form, an online test, and an interview later, here we are. Wearing my multi-coloured lanyard around the campus has never felt so cool.
“But Fran,” I hear you say, “what happened to the gap yah?”
Well as much as I would like to just jet off to Vietnam for the foreseeable future, I unfortunately need the money to do so. Oh reality, you are truly a cruel master!
It’s not all bad news, turns out I’m a dab hand at writing emails and copywriting. If you want to see my latest masterpiece, check out the Global Lounge website at www.bristol.ac.uk/global-lounge.
Plus, you can’t deny that it is pretty wholesome stuff watching new students make friends. I’m glad I can be part of a team that helps make a difference to student experience. As the Global Lounge grows and develops, I have no doubt that its events will foster community and create a sense of belonging for both home and international students alike. With projects like the Language Café – set to create spaces in which students can learn and practice new languages (including English) – there’s lots of exciting stuff on the horizon for us.
The role has been non-stop too. Three weeks of our Welcome Lounge, a launch event attended by Professor Hugh Brady himself, and hundreds of emails later, there’s no denying that I’ll have a lot to talk about in any future interview.
Because that too is a reality of working with the university on the Temporary Staffing Service (TSS) – the contract is temporary. And, as much as I worried about the impending sense of doom that this would bring, the truth is exactly the opposite. It is a position that gives graduates the opportunity to apply internally for permanent roles, or, in my case, get valuable work experience and save up some money in preparation for a gap yah. It was a risk that has paid off for me.
So then, what is my advice? Firstly, don’t panic about the end of university. It’s okay to not have a plan, or for your plan to go out the window.
Secondly, as an obligatory plug, keep an eye on the Global Lounge web page for some of our upcoming events! There will be plenty of fun activities to fill your term, including the new Language Café and celebrations from Day of the Dead to Diwali.
Finally, and most importantly, enjoy the time you have here. However many more weeks, months, or years you call this city your home, take the chance to make some lasting memories. You never know what (or who) is waiting for you!
Written by Fran Carroll, Global Lounge Assistant