Growing up, I had
a really turbulent time during my teenage years.
I was not very education oriented,
so I'd actually been struggling prior
to coming here. Struggling with panic attacks.
I was acrophobic for
a while and I was looking for alternatives.
I was looking for a way into education.
I knew I had potential,
I knew I had these interests that I wanted to explore.
I just needed a way, a way into that.
I felt at the time I
couldn't commit to the three year undergraduate course
because I felt I would really be diving into the deep end.
I felt that with the Foundation
year there's that guidance.
There's that one-to-one level
that you perhaps don't get at undergraduate level.
And I just felt this will be
a great introduction to set me up for undergraduate level.
It was, it was daunting.
But first week, your induction week,
you're taught how to do these things.
There's guidance, there's support. For people that expect it's going
to be... you can just fly through it and not do any work whatsoever.
That's not quite the case.
You really do have to commit
and push yourself in the Foundation.
It was so beneficial to be around the same people
every day, to have the same tutors every day, to
feel like I could go to these people
and to be in contact with them,
you know, 3 - 4 years later.
These really are... it's not just a one-year thing,
it's a thing for indefinite, for life.
I think there's like, I think that there's
this misconception that if you're studying Foundation year,
it's limited in some way.
You're a limited member of the university community,
but you're not! Everything...
everything open to all the other years is open to you as well.
So, yeah. It arms you with the skill of critical thinking,
which not even... not only in undergraduate level,
but in society as a whole,
critical thinking is one of
the most invaluable skills you can have.
My communication skills improved massively
I'm told. My confidence levels grew.
So I went from in my... in the Foundation
year, in my first semester we had to give a presentation.
I went from hiding behind the lectern
with my oversized sunglasses on, absolutely
dreading every second, to
a few weeks ago giving a talk in front of
our recent Foundation year students
about my experiences. With a microphone as well [laughs]
Which was crazy.
We stayed in touch even though you go
off into your own destination departments.
The Foundation year really
bonds you in that way that you stay in touch.
You'll see them around campus.
There are a few people that studied
philosophy who I'm still in touch with.
But the majority of my friends
were studying classics were studying ancient history.
But because of the Foundation year
we stayed in touch and we knew each
other and coming into university as a first-year was not as
daunting because we already had this support system in place.
Getting to know my way around,
getting to know people within the department.
It really armed me with that knowledge
that just made that first year so much easier,
so much less daunting than it would've
been if I'd have just come straight away.
Higher education is so gate kept by pre-requisites.
That's something I feel really passionate about
and I feel it's Foundation year
is something that really instilled this importance in me.
Because now I work in student recruitment,
now I can advise students on
like there is another way
there is an alternative into higher education.
Into university level study.
You can do this.
This is a viable path into the University of Nottingham.
I came into the Foundation year not really
knowing where I sat academically.
I didn't really know what my potential was.
I didn't really know my capabilities.
I don't think it would have been a first would have
been possible without the Foundation year.