Interview with Greig Stark —
BSc (Hons) Public Sociology
“I am Greg Stark and I am 28. I am
originally from Glenrothes in Fife but have
been living in Edinburgh since 2006
when I originally enrolled as a student at
QMU.
“I completed the first and second years
of a Sociology and Cultural Studies
degree at QMU, but decided to withdraw
in 2008 due to personal issues. I then
started working full-time and began a
career as a Retail Compliance Manager
with Tesco in 2013. After working with
Tesco for nine and a half years, I made a
joint decision with the support of my wife
to return to QMU, complete my degree
and move into the voluntary sector. This
is something I’d always wanted to do.
“Thanks to the support and
encouragement of my Academic Adviser
at QMU, I am now studying BSc (Hons)
Public Sociology and I am in Year Three.
I also spent part of my studies on
exchange at Slippery Rock University of
Pennsylvania in the USA.”
How did you come to choose this
course and why QMU?
“I originally came to QMU in 2006 as I
had always wanted to move to
Edinburgh. I attended the Corstorphine
campus for my first year and moved to
the new Musselburgh campus half way
through my second year. The new
facilities and prospects drew me in.
When I chose to return, I was offered the
chance to return as an associate student
while I worked full-time and in turn I
could directly enter Year Three. This was
a major factor in returning to QMU.”
Why did you choose to study in
Edinburgh?
“Coming from Fife, Edinburgh was
always somewhere I visited when I was
younger. Whether to watch Scotland play
rugby at Murrayfield, watch my local
team travel to Easter Road or Tynecastle
or spend days taking in the culture with
my family — it’s always somewhere I’ve
loved to be. Edinburgh is the greatest
city in the world. I’m not shy to tell
anyone that. Where else in the world can
you stand on the main shopping street
and see a castle on top of a volcano.
You can have breakfast in the city, have a
picnic up the Pentland hills and then
stroll along the beach at night. It truly is
an amazing place. After living here for
eleven years, I’m proud to call Edinburgh
my home.”
What’s been the highlight of the
course so far?
“I took the ‘Poverty and Social Exclusion’
module as an associate student in 2016
and felt honoured to be learning from
academics that have done so much vital
social research in the field of workers’
rights and conditions and I now have the
honour of learning from experts in their
respective fields every day.
“I enjoy doing presentations in class,
which not only helped my confidence in
class but also in my workplace where I
try to take on additional opportunities to
share my ideas. I also really enjoy writing
in an academic style.”
Did you study abroad as part of your
QMU degree?
“I took up the opportunity to go on an
exchange to Slippery Rock University,
Pennsylvania, USA in 2017. A QMU
lecturer back in 2008 said it would be a
beneficial experience, especially as I
planned to write my fourth year
dissertation on disability rights and
seeing how people with disabilities are
treated in other societies would be of
great benefit. I also found out that
studying at another university would help
me get into government work or
academia in the future.
“While at Slippery Rock, I volunteered my
services to the Department of Disabilities
on campus, attended presentations for
Black History Month and joined the
debate on President Trump’s Executive
Order to enforce a travel ban on selected
citizens from the Middle East and North
Africa.
“The most enjoyable thing about living
and studying in the USA is the
opportunity to meet new people from
around the world who have now become
great friends.”
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Any top tips for students who might
be interested in this course?
“Public sociology is a fascinating subject.
You would be surprised that you study it
every day. Whether you’re asking your
manager at work when your next pay
rise is coming, you’re debating about
recent elections and referendums or
you’re in a bar talking to your friends, this
is public sociology.
“We learn why the world works in the
strange way it does. We ask why do we
communicate in the way that we do and
what do we need to change to make the
world a better place. The one thing you
need to know if you want to study in this
field is that you can work with people
– people of all cultures, religious,
socio-economic groups and sexual
orientations. We want to produce
literature and carry out vital research that
will inform policy makers to make
changes that benefit everyone. That is
what public sociology means to me.”
Any future plans after graduation?
“I currently work for a voluntary
organisation based in Edinburgh called
The Action Group. I work within the Real
Jobs department, which aims to support
those in our society with additional
support needs and meaningful
employment. Postgraduate study is
something I’d like to consider in the
future, but in the long term, I hope to
complete more work in the voluntary
sector and one day move into work with
the Scottish Government. A social policy
adviser would be an ideal role for me but
I wouldn’t discount a job that supported
Scotland’s position outside the UK.”
NOTES
To hear more from Greg and his
experiences on exchange at Slippery
Rock University of Pennsylvania in the
USA, visit his blog at https://
starkedinburgh.wordpress.com