What you didn’t know about Gabby, our Academic Intern
8th September 2019
After a long summer of working hard it’s time to say goodbye to our Academic Intern, Gabby. Gabby spent her summer with the Academic team after a busy 3 years at Cardiff University.
We got to know Gabby a little better before she left; below she tells us all about her experience at Cardiff University. She also tells us about how she coped being so far from home and her favourite places to visit in the city. We’d like to wish Gabby the best of luck for the future!
Hi! My name is Gabby, and I’ve just finished my 8-week internship at Celtic. Whilst working at Celtic I’ve also been doing some of the blog posts! I started studying at Cardiff University in 2016 and completed a three-year course in English Literature, graduating with a 2:1 in July 2019.
When I was deciding on which university to go to, I had no idea about where I wanted to go – but when I visited Cardiff University, I really liked how all of the buildings were close together and you could walk everywhere! I also really liked the look of my course as you could choose most of your modules – there were loads of options.
Whilst at University it’s a great idea to take part in as much as possible – I was part of Student Action for Refugees (STAR), which puts on conversation classes for refugees and asylum seekers, so that they can integrate into the community and learn English. This is one of the reasons I applied for my job at Celtic.
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The best thing that I did whilst at University was teaching in Cambodia for a month. This was one of the best opportunities I’ve ever had. I absolutely loved my time in Cambodia and it’s an experience that I’ll always treasure. Teaching the children in Siem Reap was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done and definitely made me more aware of how lucky I am and also how important teaching English is. When I got back from Cambodia, I became a Global Opportunities Ambassador to encourage other people to do the same as me and volunteer abroad.
Whilst at uni there will always be some challenges! I’m from York, which is in the north of England, so to get home by train takes about five hours. When I chose Cardiff, I didn’t think about the impact of this. Sometimes when uni was particularly hard, for example during essay season, I craved a couple of days at home, but the cost of travel and the distance made this difficult. There is no easy way to get around this, but I’d look forward to my parents coming to Cardiff and when they arrived it was just the best feeling. It can sometimes feel quite lonely at uni, so it’s really important to remember that, no matter how alone you feel, there are people around you that love you and want to support you.
One of the best things about Cardiff is the choice of restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes. There is always somewhere new to visit! The Dead Canary provides the best cocktails as well as a live pianist and guitarist! It’s my favourite bar in Cardiff. I also love Curado, which is a tapas bar. All of its ingredients are imported from Spain and it does really authentic, tasty tapas. You can’t go wrong!
Now that I’ve finished my internship at Celtic, I’m going interrailing around Europe, so I’ll be visiting Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria and Germany. I can’t wait! In the future, I would like to live abroad for a year or so, as I really enjoy experiencing different cultures and lifestyles. I’m still working out what I would like to do for work, but university has helped me be much more independent and it has given me a better understanding of myself. Completing my degree has also given me lots of skills, including analytical, critical and judgement. It’s also given me three of the best years of my life. Although university is not for everyone, my experience has been invaluable and has definitely paved the way for my future.
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