o
Here's what d ur
an
students es
gr aduat ay:
have to s
Name: Richard Lavery
Course: BA (Hons) Drama
From: Belfast, Northern
Ireland
I chose to study at Queen’s,
because as well
as wanting to attend a univers
ity that would give
me a great education and a
fantastic academic
experience, it was important
to me to sample a
lot of different experiences
that I would never
have otherwise thought of tryi
ng.
I wanted my time at university to
be the beginning of
my life, setting me up for a futu
re career, and exploring
new opportunities. I came to univ
ersity as a mature
student (23). I thought that bein
g older would enable
me to know what I wanted to get
out of university more
clearly; but I had some trepidat
ion about being older
than my classmates. Very quic
kly I got involved with
various clubs and societies and
met others who shared
my interests. It was through thes
e and my course that
I found my way through the first
few weeks of university
life. After graduating from Queen’s
, I started working as
an Assistant Director and then
moved to London to study
a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre
Directing in one of the
industry-leading courses in the
UK for aspiring theatre
directors. I now run my own thea
tre company and have
enjoyed many career highlights,
including producing a
new play for the 50th anniversary
of the Ulster Bank
Belfast Festival at Queen’s, writ
ten by one of my
closest friends, whom I met at
Queen’s.
Name: Tony Houston
Course: Accounting, final year (GRADuatE)
From: Strabane, Co Tyrone
My time at Queen’s has undoubtedly been the best
two years of my life. I have become increasingly
involved in extracurricular activities, and through
the Student Guidance Centre I was able to complete
the IBM university business challenge, getting to
the semi-finals in England.
I have participated in the ’Insight into Management’
course and the ’Frontrunner Leadership Programme’,
become treasurer of Queen’s Accounting Society and
become a lead peer mentor. I have also taken part in
the ’Free Enterprise’ and the ’Business Society’, and
I reached the final stages of the University's ’The
Apprentice’ competition. These events have allowed
me to complete Degree Plus, which has provided
me with a fantastic opportunity to stand out from
the crowd in a difficult workplace environment.
QU | Your guide to life at Queen's
Name: Michael Montgomery
Course: Law – Master of Legal Science
(MLegSc), graduated 2011
From: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Queen’s has helped me immensely in enabling me to
join the legal profession in Northern Ireland. Much of
this was due to the excellent Careers, Employability
and Skills staff who helped me prepare applications
and interviews.
I also took part in the London Law tour in my first year of
study which greatly increased my exposure to more than
10 law firms outside Northern Ireland.
Name: Jo Baker
Course: MA and PhD in Irish Writing
From: Lancashire, England
I chose to study at Queen’s as I was impressed by
the course and the reputation of the department.
The Queen’s course was well established and had
a strong reputation, and I was delighted when
I heard I’d been accepted on it. I loved Belfast –
I stayed on for a good while after graduating –
and I lived there for 10 years in total.
I enjoyed the whole experience from socialising in the
Students’ Union to antenatal classes…! I loved the
place and managed to travel quite a lot across Ireland.
My time as an MA student and then a PhD student at
Queen’s definitely prepared me for my career in writing.
The courses provided a solid groundwork of reading
and independent research, which stretched me mentally
and enabled a more expansive way of thinking. Though
I’m a full-time writer now, I’ve also had various jobs to
pay the bills including arts administration and teaching
creative writing, and I found that the study and cultural
experiences I’d had at Queen’s were really good
resources upon which I could draw.
Name: Catherine McEvoy
Course: Applied Mathematics and Physics
From: Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh
Queen’s is very much at the forefront of research
and its methods of teaching and learning are
excellent. I now work as a PhD research student in
Astrophysics in Queen’s and it is definitely a leading
institute in this field.
As an undergraduate, I was also given the opportunity to
attend and present at a conference in Tenerife, and I
found that other researchers had huge respect for the
work done here at Queen’s.”
ideo
For full v
n to
iews, log o udy
interv
.uk/ugst
ac
http://go.qub.
12
13
www.qub.ac.uk