The end of this academic year marks the end of my first year at university, and although I’ve made a lot of progress I definitely still have a lot more to make. This year overall has challenged me but has also allowed me to get a better feel for what I want out of my future at Exeter. Studying International Relations with Spanish has allowed me to study a wide variety of modules including modules relating to Spanish literature, past and present world politics and different international cultures. As you know, I’ve learnt that International Relations actually isn’t really for me, and as of next year I’ll be studying Spanish and Italian, with languages being something that I’ve always had a passion for. Changing my degree in itself was a valuable moment this year as it taught me the importance in prioritising doing something you’re passionate about. It also affirmed to me that it’s fine that I’m not 100% certain of what I want to do in the future and it’s okay to re-evaluate if I feel something in my academic journey isn’t quite what I wanted. Another key moment this year, from a personal standpoint, is simply being at university in the first place as I wasn’t sure that was something I would ever be ready for, but I’m glad to have been able to prove myself wrong; especially with being at a university so far away from home.

In terms of what the scholarship and support I’ve been provided has done for me, all I can say is that being a care leaver has meant that I don’t have a solid financial source that I can rely on back home and – living in Exeter especially – has been an eye-opening experience regarding just how high the cost of living really is. Although obviously student loans can cover a lot, having a scholarship has massively taken a weight of my shoulders in that I don’t have to worry about little things like accidentally going over budget on a weekly food shop or how I’d tackle dealing with unexpected expenses on my own. I’d like to think that I’m quite good with money, but dealing with expenses as a teenager is incredibly different to dealing with expenses whilst at university. For example having to buy all my own supplies and textbooks was quite daunting, and having that extra bit of help has been beneficial in that I wasn’t worried when I realised all my books would probably cost a lot more then I originally thought!

In terms of what I have planned next, I’m incredibly excited to be starting Italian in September as I currently don't know any Italian, hopefully in my next report I’ll know at least a little bit! And I’m excited for the new academic year now that I know what to expect, I struggled at first this year as I was finding my feet, but I feel more confident this time around I’m definitely more willing to step out of my comfort zone a bit more. I think I’d like to pick up at least one new hobby as I was happy staying in my comfort zone this year acknowledging that first year of university in itself would be quite a big step for me.

I’m incredibly grateful for your support and I hope you feel you made the right decision in deciding to become a donor to Exeter! It was lovely to be able to meet you in May, and find out a little bit more about how the university has changed since you were studying here, as well as hearing more about your career and how you got to where you are now. It would be great to meet again during second year, and hopefully I’ll have lots more to tell you about what I’ve been up to since the last time we spoke.

Best wishes

Tash