The thought of leaving home and moving to a new city to start university can feel huge – scary even – but at the same time there’s the excitement of a new chapter lying ahead, ready to be cracked open.
University is the perfect place to try on the person you’ve been thinking about becoming, stepping outside your comfort zone and into a more confident version of yourself. Plot twists, sliding door moments and main character energy are all par for the course, as these three University of Greenwich students prove. Here, they share the defining parts of their university story and what that journey has meant to them.
‘Clearing is a really big thing for people’
Starting at university didn’t exactly go the way Ojoachenyo Onuh – known as Ojo – imagined. “I had impostor syndrome at the beginning,” says Ojo. “I was like, ‘Ooh my gosh, I’m really here.’” That’s because Ojo originally applied to study optometry, but when she opened her A-level results, she hadn’t met the requirements. “I didn’t get anywhere close to my predicted grades,” she says, which made her question everything. “It was like a mini existential crisis!”
She decided to dig deep and ask herself what it was that she really loved about science. “I went right back to my fundamentals,” she says. “I love biology, I love chemistry, but I’m not a fan of physics, so I was like, OK, maybe something pharmaceutical, let’s have a look – and that’s when Greenwich popped up.”
Having found her place through Clearing at the University of Greenwich, she had to complete a foundation year before starting her three-year degree in pharmaceutical sciences and Ojo believes that’s what really boosted her confidence. “It felt sort of like a gap year,” she says. “It gave me room to figure out if I was on the right path.”
It turns out, she really was. Now in her fourth and final year, Ojo’s research on drug formulations for pulmonary tuberculosis is going to be published and she can’t believe how far she’s come. “As a student ambassador, I even found myself helping other students going through Clearing, it made me realise how big it is for people,” says Ojo of what she describes as a full-circle moment. “It’s been a crazy experience, but one that I wouldn’t exchange for anything.”
‘This has helped me become the best person I can be’
First-year student Youssef Hesso has always had a passion for helping people, which is why he chose to study paramedic science at the University of Greenwich. “I think it’s because I’m originally from Syria, a country of war,” says Youssef. His family moved from Syria to Egypt before settling in a small village in Gloucestershire when Youssef was 11.
Choosing to study in London was important to Youssef, but he also knew he’d be nervous – “I went from living in a tiny village where I knew everyone, to a huge city. It was a massive jump and it was scary,” he says. “But I was ready for the opportunities.” And Greenwich really eased Youssef into city life: “It’s got that village vibe, and the university feels like a home away from home.”
As part of his course, Youssef works one day a week with the London ambulance service and he loves that he comes across all walks of life “from older people to babies who’ve literally just been born”. But Youssef really started to come into his own when he got involved with the university’s societies. “My family’s Kurdish and I realised there wasn’t a Kurdish society so I got together with some friends from my course and we set one up,” he says. As he’s good with money, Youssef was given the role of treasurer. When he has moments of doubt, he just thinks back to the boy he used to be, from moving to a country where he didn’t even speak the language to starting uni in a city he’d never lived in. “All of it helps me become the best person I can be,” he says.
‘A big presentation made me see what life will be like’
When Kristina Mikulasikova first set foot on campus, she knew she’d found her place in the world. “I had this gut feeling that Greenwich was where I wanted to be,” she says. Now, having just graduated in digital marketing and advertising from the university, Kristina’s so glad she trusted herself.
The first year of her course was mostly theory but in her second year she got to put all that she’d learned into practice. “I had to do a big presentation for real clients,” says Kristina. “It was extremely nerve-racking – there I was presenting my marketing strategy to big-time industry professionals.” And while she was doing it, Kristina had this realisation of “Wow, this is it, this is what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life”. And with each presentation that followed, Kristina felt her confidence growing. “It just felt incredible, honestly,” she says. “And now I’m very comfortable with public speaking. I love making presentations and putting my ideas out there for people to see and maybe grab and use.”
Kristina knows that’s in her future, and she credits Greenwich as the place that cultivated her confidence. It’s the university that helped her become the person she always imagined she’d be. “It’s amazing that just one moment can open up a succession of amazing moments,” she says.
Open up amazing moments in your future by gaining a place at the University of Greenwich
