Balancing home and studies!

I am very excited to get back to University this week, we have had three weeks off to recoup and to start preparing for end of year exams. I really cannot wait to catch up with my friends and see how their Easter break was.
I had a lovely family Easter and put on a little egg hunt for my two young kids and little brother, the weather held up too and it has been a lovely week to spend with family.

I feel its really important to find a good balance between academic work and family life. By taking the Easter weekend off I got to spend some valuable time with my family and now I feel happy and confident to take on the rest of the year at University. I am not going to say it is easy trying to balance home life with University, because at times it can be very challenging, however it is do-able and I would not change the way my life is. The University of Bedfordshire acknowledges that every student is unique and that each person has different lifestyles. The University has been nothing but supportive throughout my first year, and without the support I probably would have felt like I couldn't make it through. The staff are always on hand to make appointments with, so you can talk to them about your workload and they always offer great advice on time management and organisation.

This week I have been getting all my revision material together ready for the revision classes, and these will really test me on how much I have managed to learn this year.
Unfortunately, this week has been slightly uneventful, but I know when I start back up at University there will be plenty more activities and experiences to share with you all.
I hope everybody had a lovely Easter break and did not eat too many chocolate eggs! Although I believe you can never have too much chocolate!

New Developments

It is now officially Easter break, but unfortunately it still means work. Although I have taken this week pretty slow, I have been preparing my notes and started to make some exam revision material for May examinations.

I know the main areas I need to revise for each unit, so for each one I have constructed some mind maps in a book. I am hoping the colour co-ordination and little doodles will help me get all this information stuck in my mind.

The 24/7 library at the Luton campus is a major contributing factor to my revision. I am hoping that it will be quiet next week so I can go in with my headphones on and find a nice spot to revise, next year will be even more stimulating as the new library development is due to open in early 2016. 

An Artist Impression of the new Learning Resource Centre.

The new library building will be spread over seven floors, connecting to the rest of the University’s Luton campus via bridge link. The new library marks the latest stage in the development of the university. There will be a ground floor cafe, study spaces and a 30 per cent increase in book stocks.

The most common misconception of libraries are that they are old dusty and boring, the library at the Luton campus is far from that. It is a comfortable learning environment and dare I say it, a place we all meet up with friends and get some work done. The new library development will definitely be a popular building on campus and I cannot wait to see it when it is completed.  

Let Diversity In!

At the beginning of the week I attended the ‘Aspiring Solicitors’ event at the Law School. ‘Aspiring Solicitors’ offers FREE career and academic advice for us future solicitors! This amazing initiative helps hundreds of unrepresented law students and graduates to secure placements, training contracts and vacation schemes across the UK.

‘Aspiring Solicitors’ is the creation of former Norton Rose Fulbright corporate associate Chris White, who was our speaker for the afternoon and I cannot express how invaluable Chris’ advice was. You could tell from the atmosphere in the room, that every person in there was hanging on his every word. Chris not only gave advice on how to further our careers but opened a new window on diversity in the legal profession.

It can sometimes be difficult for students from non-russell group universities to excel in the legal profession. However, Chris’ presentation enhanced how important diversity is and how diversity should be a positive element in the recruitment of trainee solicitors. He emphasised that no one should be judged by any other factors, than their knowledge and their personality.  His organisation gives opportunities to unrepresented groups and for that I cannot be more thankful. Chris' presentation gave me hope and motivation. It made me realise that nothing is out of my reach if I work hard for it. I now feel more confident in getting a job in the legal profession after graduation and I know that the University of Bedfordshire is the perfect starting block for the rest of my career journey. 

Dr Andreas Yiannaros, from the School of Law, who hosted the event said:

“Chris and Aspiring Solicitors are committed to increasing diversity throughout the legal profession; this is in line with our own philosophy as an institution and enhances our strong commitment to equality and diversity here at the University of Bedfordshire. What Chris has achieved in such a short time is astonishing; I urge our students to become actively involved in this wonderful initiative”.

I could not agree more, with Dr Yiannaros. The University of Bedfordshire is all about diversity and accepting diversity into our life. I have made friends from all over the world, of different ages, cultures and sexual orientation in my classes. Each one of them have their own stories to tell and share experiences I would never have known about before.  

So Let Diversity In!

For more information on ‘Aspiring Solicitors’ you can visit their website or catch them on all the social media platforms. 

Rewind

So it turns out that I'm staying in Luton after all. 3 days after moving out of the flat in Luton; my parents offered me enough money to keep it until my first full-month's paycheck rolls through. With this in mind, I swiftly called up the landlord. the place was still to let. this means I was able to re acquire the same flat. Of course, that means moving all my stuff back in to the flat. But the way I see it; it was just a really thorough (and really late) spring clean. In moving back in; I made sure to not bring back any clutter. Now that I'm no longer studying; my Law books can stay in storage. The same can be said about the countless number of pieces of papers and documents I've accumulated during my studies.

With my new (and also old) set-up; I am 10 minutes walk away from my current work place, 5 minutes away from a bus stop where a bus can take me to another stop thats just 5 minutes away from my up coming workplace at Sharman Law in Bedford. Everything is falling into place. Things are looking up for me. And i firmly believe that I owe a lot to my student experience in the University of Bedfordshire.

During my interview for the new job; I think my experiences of project management frm participating in Enactus Bedfordshire really carried me. This; coupled with the skills I developed in my current workplace within the University boosted my prospects during my interview for the law firm. It really helped me stand out among the others. Now; who knows where my road will take me.

But I cant wait to find out.



Paul G,
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Expiry and Experience

Today marks the first day in a long time where I stop being a student. I say this because my University ID expired yesterday. This means no more student bus tickets, no more student discounts and no more fancy sounding beep as I go pass the barriers within the University. I was however glad to get one last student-discounted cinema ticket yesterday. We went to watch Hercules! It was a nice outing before I move out of my flat in Luton. But that's tomorrow; as for today; my girlfriend and I have to pack up everything in the flat; ready to go for tomorrow.

I really loved it here in Luton, and now I'm moving back home for abit. But with any luck; I'll be back living here soon enough. Once my pay checks start coming in; hopefully I can find another place here in Luton. A nice affordable place. Writing about it now makes me look forward to it more. I really like it here; a university town seems more alive than most other towns; and I want to be a part of it again.

Plus as an added benefit; Luton is just a bus ride away from my new place of work. I'm excited to start working there too. I'm almost there!

Speaking of impending events; my blogging will stop soon. My blogging service to the University was only short term, and the contract is about to end. this is why I've recently been squeezing in as much blogs as I can; to give my readers a proper send off. Come the 4th of April, my contract will officially end with an exit interview in the University. So too must this blog. I'll try to squeeze in one more blog before then. But no promises (but in all honesty I will try my very best).

Paul G,
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Knowledge Transfer Associate

Today; I received further information on what my job will be in Sharman Law. As it turn out, I am supposed to work on reducing the carbon output of the firm through the use of technology. This means managing all the data in a more efficient manner, teaching the other staff to cope with the new databases that house the information and (as an extra task); fix up the social media aspect of the Law firm. I start all this at the first of September. 

For this; I will be paid just under £21,000 pro rata. Not bad for straight out of University. I'm really lucky to have stumbled onto this opportunity. All this was made possible by the University's HireMe scheme. A service which I recently found out is still available to Bedfordshire Alumni despite having graduated and no longer studying at the University. The level of support they give us for maximum exit velocity is staggeringly good. It seems like the University of Bedfordshire really wants to help all it's students as much as they can.

As it currently stands; I will receive some kind of pay check every month on the 21st from now on. Despite the fact that Sharman Law is likely to pay one month in arrears; the back pay I will be receiving from the Quality Assistant job will sustain till my Sharman Law pay-checks come in.

The only thing I'm worried about is the tax. I've braced myself for the 22% emergency tax. Accounting for the worst case scenario makes me feel more prepared. So I do all my financial calculations with that in mind. Regardless, I'm sure it will work out.

Paul G,

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Achievement Unlocked: Graduation

So today was my graduation. It was a momentous occasion and lots of picture taken was involved. It was great seeing some of my friends again after weeks of none-contact. It's probably best if I get in contact with them more from now on. Anyway, graduation was really fun. It was held in Putteridge Bury which is a fantastic looking venue. It featured a nice manor-house, some topiaries and a fountain pond kind of thing (but that wasn't on whilst it was there). It was a great day.

Speaking to one of my lecturers; I was told that it was actually a University of Bedfordshire campus and that post graduate lectures/seminars were held there. I was a tad envious; I wanted to have classes there too. He continued to explain that due to the fact that the venue was somewhat detached from the town centre; the post graduate centre was built to cater to the wishes of students previously studying in the Putteridge Bury campus.


I normally wear a suit anyway as my daily attire; so for graduation, I had to do something else extra. The only thing I could think of was a new knot for my tie. I went with my good-luck trinity knot. I dubbed it so due to the fact that I used the same know for my tie for an job interview yesterday. I am pleased to say that I got the job. I will now become a knowledge transfer associate for Sharman Law Solicitors' Firm. I am very excited to start work there and to open a new chapter of my life.

Paul G,
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ID

So today I received my staff ID for my work as quality assistant. It may not seem like much; but this brings
about certain privileges. I CAN NOW USE THE PRINTER! Haha, well what I was really looking forward to regarding this whole ID thing is to be able to wear one of those ID holders that say staff on it. But they didnt have any available at the time :(

But I havent given up just yet, I now set off on a quest for the staff ID holder. I plan to get one tomorrow. Or maybe the day after that. Or the day after that. But eventually I'll get one. Its understandable though. Currently, the University ID people (I dont know what they're called) are tending to the freshers. There was lots of people today in queue to get themselves enrolled. That was me 3 years ago. And now next week I'm graduating. How the time flies. The freshers angels were giving tours to the new arrivals, some people were strolling their luggage behind them towards the student accommodation and the cafeteria was peppered with students and their parents eating (probably for them to see their kid's new place). It's been a good day; a walk down memory lane.

Part of me wants to do it all over again; just for fun. I actually enjoyed Uni. It was an amazing experience. But I tend not to dwell in the past. This nostalgic feeling; I felt the same with my awesome secondary school. But when I rolled in to University; it was also just as awesome. So I'm confident that whatever happens next; whatever the next chapter of my life will be; it'll be awesome too.

A Quality Job

This week, I began working as a quality assistant for the University of Bedfordshire. It features pretty decent pay and the work load is perfect. Though its mostly dealing with paper work; overall, I am pretty pleased with my current employment. Its also nice to see a few friendly faces there. Two of my colleagues from my LLB also work there. A standard day consists of checking if documents are correct and there are no discrepancies between  the forms and the information contained in the databases.

However, where the job really shines is with it's curious effect on the status quo. For three long years, I spent hours on work that is to be checked by my Law lecturers. But now the tables have turned. As part of the University's quality department; I am charged checking the written work of my lecturers. Muhahaha!

However, unfortunately for me, the Law lecturers seem to be on point with their documents. Little to no errors arise which means that if I was grading their work; they would be getting firsts. Still; its pretty fun marking their work. I quite enjoy my new job; and the extra money is a fine bonus!

The office is really nice and the building itself looks to be newly refurbished (either that, or the tenants just keep it in good condition). We can eat and listen to music whilst we work so it is actually a pretty comfortable workplace. With its flexible hours and charismatic workers; I am very happy with how this all turned out.


Paul G,
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GG, Well played

So after much anticipation, my Company Law grade finally came through. That morning; I woke up to find that I had apparently failed the module. Closer inspection revealed that my efforts at the final exam yielded a G. Needless to say; I got worried. I had no idea what G meant. All I know is that eVision stated that I had failed Company Law!

So it turns out that G means a "non-submission". This was difficult to believe as I DID turn up to the exam and I submitted a completed exam paper. Naturally, I called up the University to see what was going on. My presumption was that they had misplaced my paper. Calling the University directs my call to a help desk. Once there; I requested to be wired through to the Law department. After leaving my details and information about what I was after; there was not much else for me to do. Overall, it was pretty straight forward.

But to ease my conscious, I felt it was necessary for me to try and contact my lecturers directly.  I didn't know who to e-mail so I e-mailed everyone. And I mean EVERYONE. Someone then got back to me on the same day. Of this fact; I was very thankful. She said that I received a G due to the fact that the faculty was unable to locate my paper.  She went on to say that they found it in the end and that my grade will be amended after a couple of days. For my efforts; I received a B-

Peace of mind at last.

Paul G,
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Results Day

E-vision now features the results for everyone studying the 3rd year of LLB Law within the University of Bedfordshire. My initial thoughts of my grades were that it was average. I achieved a B+ in Equity & Trusts,  B in Evidence, and for E-commerce; I got a B+. One interesting thing to note is the fact that my results for Company Law are yet to be posted. I was made aware of the fact that everyone else's Company grades are up; but mine seems to be an exception to this consensus.

To segue from that, I've heard that a lot of people achieved low marks for their exams, lower than mine. I find this very hard to believe... and yet, apparently, its true. These students work hard. Most of them exert more effort than me. This then changed my outlook on my grades; it appears they were above average after all. This news makes me feel very undeserving. My current results, in conjunction with my performance in the previous years, gives me a forecasted grade of a very high 2:1. Its a border-line 1st class degree and the results for my Company Law exam or the good will of my lecturers may well tip it over the edge. This of course is subject to the accuracy of the University's award predictor; though I have no reason to doubt it.

But I digress. The point of the matter is; the work I do is minuscule in comparison to my fellow colleagues. They should be the ones getting high grades. When they partake in late nights studying; I am snug in my bed. When they surround themselves with books in the study spaces dotted around the University; I am at home playing video games. It is unjust for me to get higher grades than them :( Ive been asking around to see if anyone got good grades; maybe some of them will tell me they got good grades :D

Paul G,

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Job Hunting

So now that my course has practically finished (except for the actual graduation); I've been focusing more on job-hunting. Legal knowledge can apparently be applied to various different things. As an LLB student; your options are not limited to being either a solicitor or barrister. A world of possibilities are available. For instance; we could be a legal executive, legal secretary, paralegal and other jobs that may not seem to require legal knowledge at first glance.

For instance; this week, I attended a workshop kind of event in a new establishment over in Bedford. It was
owned by a company called European Oat Millers. From what I gathered from the talk; a new branch has recently been set up in Bedford and they need workers from all walks of life; so to speak. One of the open jobs they talked about was for "new product development" as well as something about packaging. They continued to talk about that fact that regulations and Laws need to be followed when designing new products.

Another thing to note about this company is because of the fact that they are interested in sourcing workers straight from the University of Bedfordshire (either for graduate jobs or placement years). This is very welcome news. If an employer WANTS to hire; your chances are greatly increased. And I intend to capitalize on this opportunity. On that note; I left them a copy of my CV (Note: always have a copy of your CV on you). Fingers crossed :)

Paul G,
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Cross Animals

Now that most of the activities for University have finally been completed; I have recently found myself with
more time than I can occupy. On that note; I picked up a copy of Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City. You may have noticed that this blog was posted a tad bit late. This is due to the fact I left my laptop in my girlfriend's flat for the weekend. The same flat where my Wii is currently placed.

This of course leads to be late in both my blog post AND my duty to water the plants for the animals in Funky Town. So if any of you are mad at the concept of tardiness; so too are the animals.

On a more professional note; I saw one of my friends in Uni today. He had just finished his viva voce and gave me a heads-up on what approaches. He was allowed a PowerPoint presentation and was told that it is just a formality. So this makes me feel at ease. However, it also means that I have to work on my presentation some more now. But hey, I have time to spare so why not?

He was also wearing clothes that is more formal than what he normally wears so I reckon I'm going to go formal too. Anything to potentially make my childish presentation about gaming as formal as possible.

After his viva voce, he went out for a victory milkshake.

I too will have that victory milkshake soon!

Paul G,
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Finalés Funkeln

I have now finished all of my exams. All that remains is my viva voce. Apparently that's latin for "with living voice" or "word of mouth". Basically; this is when you present to your dissertation/thesis to your examiners. This is done orally so good communication skills and public speaking is definitely a plus.

From what I've heard, it is not compulsory to have a PowerPoint presentation with you. Although I can definitely see the benefits of being equipped with one. Having slides to lean on during a presentation means that you can have bullet points infront of you for your benefit. This results in you not omitting anything that is really important. I've always been taught that failing to plan equates to planning to fail; but that's a "glass-half-empty" kind of attitude!


Plan the work; then work the plan!


So on that note; I am definitely preparing one for mine. I'm not even too sure if my supervisor will allow it; but regardless: I'll make one anyway. One: because I have more free time due to my exams having been concluded. And two: because I like PowerPoints animating it to have awesome effects has a certain charm about it. I would highly recommend that everyone do the same.

Paul G,
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Examinations

I apologise for the inconsistency of posts these last couple of weeks. It's exam season and we're all studying hard. I have 3 exams left. Starting from tomorrow; I have an exam every day. And what's worse; my exam tomorrow is at 6pm in the afternoon! That means that the exam finishes at 8pm. So my plan is to stay up late for the sole purpose of having the ability to sleep in till noon. Then thats around 5 hours of revision time and leave the last hour prior to the exam to relax and calm your nerves.

If you are reading this; I suggest you do the same (if you dont already do). One of the biggest factors of decreased performance in exams are nerves. Take a moment to step back from all the knowledge osmosis you are trying to attempt: and just be. Keep your chin up and dont let the stress defeat you. For my exam a couple of days ago; the sun was actually out. During the last hour towards the exam; people were eqquipped ith their notes for some last minute revision. I on the other-hand was under the shadow of a tree, laying flat on the grass and playing with small pine-cones. Or whatever those things are:

The important thing is, although it might sound contradictory; the last thing you want to think about in the final hour prior to the exam: is the exam itself. It has something to do with your psychology or something. I'm no expert so I'm not going to claim I'm right. But I reckon that it stems from the fact that we used to need adrenaline whenever we were about to engage in combat. Obviously in this particular setting: adrenaline just acts as excess stimulants which might be detrimental to your cognition. But hey: thats just a theory: A PINE-CONE THEORY!... thanks for reading

Paul G,

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My Weakness

Video games. I cant stop playing video games. My first exam is in a week's time and I'm still playing games. Sure I've studied every now and then, and I'm pretty confident with the level of my knowledge. But whenever I take a stroll around the university, I see my colleagues nose deep in notes and text books. Which begs the question; should I be doing the same?

Ive been learning and absorbing the information my lecturers dish out throughout the whole year. So when I look at the few notes that I have; it all just sinks in and I get it. But the fact that everyone else is working so hard is a bit daunting. I study a few hours a day and spend the rest of it on my Wii or PS3. I really really hope that what I'm doing is sufficient for the exams. Maybe I'm just doubting myself; my tactics have gotten me this far. No reason why it should come up as inadequate now.

So I shall carry on the way I am now. Still in the process of completing FarCry 3 and I just bought myself a new JRPG! It's been an eventful day today anyway (went to the airport to pick up my parents and my brother's fiancé); so I guess I'll put off studying for abit to spend time with the family :)

To those of you who are strong enough to resist the temptation of procrastination; Kudos to you!

Paul G,
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Just Dissert.....ation

Today is the deadline for 3rd Year LLB dissertation. Whilst everyone's idea of celebrating is either getting drunk, eating out or something called an Ann Summer's Party (I have no idea what that is), I'd rather plug my laptop into a 50" TV and play some Hearthstone! Though this is a happy occasion, it is important to keep in mind that we still have exams just over 2 weeks away.

I'm so glad that the Law supervisors allowed us to contact them for feedback when it was close to the deadline. Other courses apparently didn't do that. So I count myself fortunate. It's such a sigh of relief to hear from your supervisor that your work is alright. It is very reassuring considering that they are the ones marking it too. I even made an acknowledgement page thanking mine.

In the faculty meeting; some of the supervisors made a comment that not many students actually contacted them for feedback, guidance and/or support. This is very puzzling. Why wouldn't you make use of the resources you have at your disposal? They are literally one click away.

But never the less; it's finished now. Time for the home stretch. Once the post-dissertation day(s) off are finished, its back to the books. Life is hard as a Law student. But I wouldnt change a single aspect of it :)

Paul G,
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I take requests now!

Due to feedback from some of my readers; I am addressing a point one of my friends made. Mohammed Alarifi; my colleague in 3rd year LLB Law has asked what my opinion were with regards to exams. Well my thoughts on this subject isn't exactly original; but still, might as well vent it out.

As a whole I think exams are flawed. It's become more of a memory test than a test of knowledge. If I wanted a memory test, I'd whip out my Nintendo DSi and play some Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training. But since I don't at this point in time, the impending exams are a bit of a burden. Don't get me wrong, exams do have their merits. It's like peeling off a band-aid (or "plaster" as my girlfriend keeps reminding me.... "we aint in America sweet-heart"). In comparison to coursework; exams are quick to get over and done with. Coursework on the other hand drags on and saps your time.

Sure, coursework can be easy at times and you can leave it till closer to the deadline (though not too close mind you), but during those few weeks in between the set date and the days in which you actually work on it, it just sticks at the back of your head. Making you feel a tad guilty about not doing it. Or maybe that's just me.

I used to prefer exams due to the facts stated above. I could revise for it a few days before and still come out with As. But oh boy was I wrong with that attitude. Ever since A-levels I learnt my lesson (get it; "lesson"....hahahaha...ha..ha.....ha....sorry). Exams are not to be messed with. I've grown accustomed to coursework more. It felt like it was a much more accurate portrayal of what I know. The self-guilt tripping thing my mind seems to do is easily outweighed by the fact that coursework is just easier and less stressful to tackle.

Paul G,
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Easter Scrambles

With exams looming in; a majority of my Easter is spent studying and doing dissertation. Despite the fact that lecturers are not running sessions over the Easter break; a few other students and I have been going into the University practically every day of the week for at least 5 hours of straight study. That's more hours than some days of regular Uni.

Needless to say; I got some work done. Dissertation is up and running, "super-notes" of a couple of my modules are completed and there is only a couple of modules left to do. These notes are concise versions of the everything you need to know for each exam. This is derived from the known topics which are going to be featured in the exam (we wouldn't want to waste precious memory space on information that will not come up now; do we?) I then set it out in a format that is easy to understand and I employ diagrams if a concept is too complicated to explain in words.

What I normally do with these documents is to disseminate them to as many fellow colleagues as I can. That way; it helps them too. I seem to have received possessive feedback on my previous super-notes last year. I even saw multiple students gripping copies of the knowledge I somehow cobbled together in the few hours prior to the exam. It's satisfying to walk into the ICT suit to see several students benefiting from your work; then proceeding to the social learning space to see even more.


And I intend to recreate that again. The notes I have prepared consists of each topic being condensed to about a page and a half of A4. This way; the information is easier to absorb. It's worked well for me so far!

Paul G,
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Easter Break Blues

With Easter Break hitting the uni-students' calendars, there are still plenty of things left to do and not allot of time to do it in. As a 3rd year, I have to use this break to do 1 more piece of coursework, wrap up my dissertation and prepare for 4 exams. Thats alot to handle and leaving it to the last minute is a bad idea. a VERY bad idea.

Thankfully, I just finished my coursework yesterday and I have done plenty of research for my dissertation. Ive started pulling it all together into one coherent article today and so far; its looking good. I got to write about Pac-Man IN my dissertation. I also get to talk about YouTubers who cover gaming. It doesnt get any better than that. Though I fear that I may get tired of writing the words "video game culture" after a while, so far I'm really enjoying it :)

The way dissertations are set out in this Uni is really great. At the start of 3rd year, you get a list of supervisors and their broad specialities (each one usually has about 4-6). Then it is up to you to decide what to pick and what precisely about that topic do you wish to write your piece about. For me; it was Copyright Law with regards to video game content. I am so glad that I picked my supervisor for his speciality. Its advisable that you dont pick one purely because you like him/her ;)


Paul G,
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