Mia Neal - BSc (Hons) Psychology and Criminology

Tell us about your course. What are you particularly enjoying about it?

I have loved the way that we have been welcomed. It has been really nice to meet people from different walks of life on the course. I was quite surprised with how many different ages ranges and different personalities. I have met new people which is great. The lecturers are brilliant, really informative and they always record lessons so if we miss something or it is going fast, and we need to recap on it we can always do that. The lecturers are lovely, they have been really helpful with everything that I have had queries about.

I am not naturally academic, so I have had support where I have had to structure my essays and they have been really helpful with that. I know friends at other university that are sort of just left to themselves and I know a part of university is intellectual but, you know.

What made you decide on this particular course?

I have always had an interest in helping people and I am a firm believer that people can go down the wrong road and make mistakes but if they have got the right people around them then they can change their lives. This is particularly why I wanted to do criminology, and psychology as well because we are learning all about behaviours and I think sometimes people are very much stuff in environments that are not healthy and it is difficult to do something to get out of them and to move forward. I would like to do something to help people.

What made you decide on University Studies?

I have always wanted to do University, it has always been something that I have been interested in. My mum is always so much like ‘I loved uni’ and it’s a real milestone in growing up. I went to different unis and looked around, but I thought that this really works for me because I can get anxious sometimes being in big groups of people and I like that here is quite relaxed and I don’t feel any pressure coming into University here. That is definitely why I wanted to study here.

What are the best things about your University Studies experience?

Definitely making new friends. I don’t know if it is just the type of course we are on, but I feel like we really learn from each other because we have all got different experiences and we have all worked or studied in different environments and it has really helped me to learn more about Psychology and Criminology and people really which is what it’s all about.

But everything has been positive if I am honest, I have not had any moments where I have been like ‘oh my goodness, I don’t know what to do or where to go’. And, I haven’t had all my assignments back at the moment, but when I have got feedback with assignments it is always very informative. It is not just like ‘you have done this wrong’ or ‘you have done that right’ it is very detailed, and I even had personal support session with one of my lecturers to go over things that I wasn’t in the right place with. This is brilliant for individual care.

How do you feel US supports you in your studies... and your life?

It has given me a destination where I want to go int terms of career and I have had a lot of support with my academic writing, referencing and it has helped meeting new people that are similar to me in many ways. It motivates you to be around people that are trying to achieve well, as well. It is different to school and college in a way because you are younger and not everyone is really on the right course. With uni it is very much that we all know we are in the right lecture, and we are more committed. It is really good to talk to people and find out wat road they would like to go down and there are a lot of different possibilities.

What are you most proud of on your US journey so far?

I am proud that I am here to be honest with you. Staying here and being able to work on my degree because it is not always something I have found easy, being at school. And there have been times where I have thought ‘I don’t know if University will be for me’ or if I will be clever enough but since I have been here, I have only received encouragement to do better. I have had no moment where I have thought ‘maybe I am not on the right course’ since I have started here, I have thought ‘this is great, this is what I would like to do’. It has been very positive.

What’s the one biggest thing you’ve learned at US so far... about yourself? And about your subject?

About myself, I would say I have learnt just how much I do care about people and my career as well. I really have noticed that it is important to me and there is not any other routes that I want to go down. I have learnt that this is what I would like to do. Through psychology I have defiantly learnt more about how to react to certain scenarios, why people may be behaving in a certain way. It is really useful in everyday life because we are around people all the time and sometimes people behave in certain ways, and we think ‘why would you be like that’ but I have learnt that there is a lot of different reasons why people can get into criminal behaviour. It is something that I think you have to be understanding of. Not everyone has the background that you expect and the perfect ‘normal’ because there is a lot of horrible stuff that children go through, and it can really affect how they behave as well.

What do you plan to do after graduating?

Go on holiday. Before I go into a job role, I would like to do work experience in a prison because I would like to work with youth offenders and young adults that have gone down the wrong road and are not sure what they want to do in life. I would like to give them some structure and help them to become better versions of themselves and to show them that there are options out there and it is not just growing up in the environment that they are in and getting involved in drugs or drink or theft, anything illegal. There are opportunities for everyone.

If you could sum up the US experience in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, motivating and interesting.

If a friend was thinking of studying at US, what would you say to them?

Definitely, definitely. Even if you are not someone that is naturally academic, you didn’t necessarily do brilliantly at school. If you can get into University, definitely do it because it gives you so much more opportunity and a clearer insight into what you want to do. I would defiantly say to even just come and have a look and speak to people who are doing the course as well because that really helps.