Student Profile: Naomi, 3rd year Biological Sciences Student
82 Months Ago
We know that lots of you won’t be living directly on one of our campuses - but that doesn’t mean you’ll miss out! Naomi is a
“I wasn’t sure about coming to Heriot-Watt at first – my mum and dad came here, and I didn’t really want to do exactly the same as both of my parents! But I came to an open day on campus, and it had a nice homey feel; more than any other university I visited. I decided I’d like to study here after all.
I did visit the halls on campus, but I already knew that I wasn’t going to stay there. Living at home just seemed like the better option for me. I have two horses, and I wanted to be able to look after them. Staying at home would also save me a bit of money!
I was quite nervous for my Freshers Week because I didn’t know anyone and I wasn’t going to meet anyone through living on campus. There aren’t great bus links to where I live – I drive to campus for classes – so I wasn’t able to go to the nighttime events at the Student Union. I went to some of the quieter events, like the film night at the Chaplaincy, and I met some nice people.
During one of my first lectures, the lecturer ran some icebreaker exercises, and I ended up talking to a couple of girls. They didn’t live on campus either. We had a bit of a break after, and decided to get some lunch – we’d heard things about the nachos in Libertys, and they were amazing! One of them mentioned she had two ponies, and straight away I thought “right – you are going to be my friend!” We get on really well. You can find us sitting in the library watching the ducks out the window!
Everyone falls into their own wee groups at university. It just so happened that most of my friendship group in first year didn’t live on campus either. Because of that, I never really felt like I was missing out on halls. And now I’m going into
Another way I met people was by joining the Swimming Club. Joining any club is a great way to get involved when you don’t live on campus. I really think becoming a member was the best thing I did! It’s really nice to feel like you’re part of something and have teammates who look out for you. I always tell people that Swimming nights are the best nights!
I study Biological Sciences, and I found there wasn’t too much of a leap between the work here and Advanced Higher Biology at school. You do have to put the work in in your own time though. I know my referencing isn’t always the best, so I’m going to sign up for a Power Hour in the library next year. It’s great that these things are available if you want them.
I get to study a range of modules, which is nice. I did an Enterprise module last year, which I really wasn’t a fan of! But then I found that Microbiology, which I thought I would hate, was actually really interesting! I’m going to pick modules that relate to Microbiology next year because I’ve found something that I enjoy learning about.
During the summer, I’m working full time in a bistro near where I live. I’m also looking after my horses and will be helping a friend with her riding – I told her I’d squeeze her in somehow! I need to keep busy, otherwise, every day is a lazy day. I like having a routine in place, so I am looking forward to coming back in September.”
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