When I was applying for university I had no idea what I wanted to study. I’m extremely indecisive, and having switched subjects half way through the year at GCSE level and again during my A-levels, choosing a single subject to study for three or more years seemed an impossible choice.
I stumbled on the Liberal Arts and Sciences course completely by chance, and when I did it seemed almost too good to be true! I’d considered studying in America, so the integrated year abroad was ideal, and the opportunity to study a variety of subjects, changing focus as my interests evolve, was perfect for me.
In my first year I had a pretty wide range of modules, covering computer science, psychology, philosophy and politics. I’d never studied most of these formally, and although I did have a loose idea that I wanted to study artificial intelligence and politics, I was mainly choosing topics that interested me.
From my first year of study, however, it became apparent that while I found politics interesting, studying it at university wasn’t for me. I also gained a better understanding of the LANS course structure, such as the prerequisites I’d need for later modules and how different modules could complement each other.
I began to place artificial intelligence at the centre of my module choices, and aimed to double major in computer science and neuroscience; a fairly rare combination at undergraduate, but one that makes a lot of sense for AI.
Meanwhile, I was doing everything I could to make the most of my university experience. I’d chosen Tennis Court as my first year accommodation because I’d heard it was the most sociable, and its placement between the university and the Vale makes it easy to get to events at both. I started Men’s Lacrosse, which I’d never tried before, as well as MMA, yoga (included free with sports memberships), and later, Mixed Lacrosse. I also participated in most of the LANS cultural programme activities, including trips to the theatre and a Cuban jazz orchestra, and through all these things made many close friends.
Experiencing the pandemic at university was often frustrating but mostly a surreal experience. It cancelled our exams and gave us a summer of drinking in the park and sunbathing on the roof, but it ripped away a year abroad I’d been hugely excited for, meant to be in Melbourne, and replaced it with a skeleton of the normal university experience. On the other hand, my year abroad being cancelled pushed me into a house of people I barely knew, but who became some of my closest friends through months of house activities. As much as I’d recommend getting involved in everything at university, spending time and bonding with your housemates is just as rewarding.
I’d actually deferred my year abroad because I was still desperate to go, and was an intern for the first half of the year. I chose to switch to the pure Artificial Intelligence programme at Birmingham. Realising the restrictions of a single honours programme I ultimately decided to switch back to LANS, but to the MSci version of the course looking to achieve a Master's degree and complete a semester abroad in California, resulting in life-long friends and some of the most exciting months of my life.