Although a lot of your time at university is spent absorbed in your degree, there is also so much more you can get involved in that will help make your time at university more memorable; it will also help develop your employability skills for after university. At the University of Reading there really is so much you can get involved in as a student, from Quidditch to the business society, and from caving to the Beyoncé society. I remember when I first looked around one of the societies fayres, I felt a little overwhelmed about how many different things I could sign up to. My advice would be to go for something that either you enjoy or something that is completely out of your comfort zone.
Societies Fayre in Welcome Week
The best thing I believe I got involved in, was taking part in The Spark newspaper’s committee as their secretary. As I was already doing an English Language degree, joining the universities newspaper really helped enrich my degree, as well as being something I really enjoyed and could talk to future employers about, such as managing my deadlines as well as keeping the paper organised. It also allowed me to meet a great bunch of people all with similar interests to me.
I also got involved in the St John Ambulance society. This was a great society to get involved with as each week we learnt new ways of dealing with and treating more minor injuries such as burns and sprains, as well as more serious injuries such as fractures and breaks and even CPR. I have also had the opportunity to put my training into practice in real life scenarios as I train for first aid certificates, such as community first aider. Not only has this helped me learn how to deal with problems in difficult and tense situations, something that is a great skill to apply to the workplace, but it has also enabled me to add first aid training to my CV.
I also decided to put myself outside of my comfort zone by taking part in ballet lessons and fitness. Before university I was quite a lazy person, so doing something like this has really helped me become a lot more confident, as I now know I can do something I might not necessarily be good at, but still enjoy and put my mind to.
All these things I have been involved in at university have helped me enrich my time here, but also make me a more employable person, as I have a lot more that I can talk about than just my degree. I have developed skills that are great for the workplace, such as my organisation and confidence. So if I was to give any advice from what I learnt, it would be to throw yourself into everything the University of Reading has to offer, because not only will you enjoy it, but it will also help with your future life and career after university.
Emma Campbell