Blogs

As a PhD researcher at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute in Glasgow, I spend my time looking at pancreatic cancer cells and how they use energy differently from normal cells. Finding this out could help us specifically target pancreatic cancer cells, leaving healthy cells unharmed.

I arrived in Harvard Square, my red hair frizzy from the flight, face flushed from the heat and in a state of panic. In that moment, I questioned why I had decided to put myself through the ordeal of moving to a foreign nation. Then I turned around and two friendly Boston residents offered to carry my bags. I was reminded that I was not alone and that in Cambridge, help was quite literally on every corner. 

I didn’t know about dyspraxia until a friend told me about it last year at yoga. A lot of the symptoms lined up with me so I decided to get tested a few weeks later.

I have been living and studying in Australia for 15 months now, but I am originally from the United States. I grew up in Minnesota where my family were avid outdoors-people. Like classic Minnesotans, summers were spent going on nature expeditions - hiking, fishing, camping - where I developed an appreciation for nature and wildlife.

When I was in Year 10, everyone who had achieved above average exam results was asked to complete a questionnaire. We were not told what the purpose of this questionnaire was, nor what the outcome would be. After the routine requests for name and date of birth, we were asked: “Has anyone in your family ever attended university?”

Gate 86 of Stansted Airport was where my Sutton Trust journey started and now ends. One year ago, I was headed to the US as part of the Sutton Trust US Programme to experience life at a US university. Suitcase in tow and anxiety and excitement at an all time high, I travelled alongside other Scottish Sutton Trust participants.

Last month, at the tender age of 37, I graduated from Birmingham City University with an MA in online journalism. It may seem a strange concept to attend university later on in life (I’m using the term ‘attend’ loosely as I studied part-time via distance learning) but it’s more common than you might think. I know this because I work at the Open University and see at first hand the importance – and value – of studying at any stage in your life, often while spinning multiple plates.

After my first term at the University of Oxford, I was invited back to my old sixth-form college in Norfolk to talk to students who were thinking about university applications. Norfolk has a historically low percentage of young people applying for higher education. Trying to convince them that they should try applying to Oxbridge was an uphill battle and I could see why – I had also been there.

My name is Raphaëlle Soffe, and I am a dual British and French citizen. I currently live in Ewloe, a small village in North Wales, and I went to high school in the neighbouring village of Hawarden. In just a few short weeks, I will be cramming four months’ worth of possessions into two suitcases and flying over to Boston to start at Harvard University. 

Like most students, I anticipated results day this year with nerves, dread and an endless reel of possible scenarios in my mind. No matter how well your exams go, there will always be that doubt that maybe they didn’t quite go to plan. 

These days, it couldn’t be easier to receive your results. All you need is wi-fi, a device and your login details. In many ways, this is fantastic, especially if you’ve studied abroad, but it also means that receiving your results is now more impersonal than ever. No human contact needed.