Bio
Details: 22, from London, UK
Imperial Course: MRes Biological and Physical Chemistry
Optional Modules: Attributes and Aspirations
Previous Education: BSc Chemistry, Kings College London, 1st
Job: Waterstones
Tags: Home, PGT, FoNS, Chemistry, FiF
Motivations and Frustrations
Motivations
Leonard completed an internship at Unilever during his BSc in Chemistry at Kings College London and enjoyed the working environment, even though he thinks he still wants to continue his studies into a PhD. While he is worried about the cost of this, he knows he enjoys problem solving and analysing data so would like to use these skills in the future.
Frustrations
Throughout his studies Leonard continued to work in his local Waterstones and is concerned about how he will pay for his PhD if he does not have time to work. So far, he has been able to manage his time to allow for both work and study, but he is worried that the increased workload of his MRes might affect this. As the first in his family to attend university he also feels a lot of pressure from his family to be ‘the best’.
AA Journey
Leonard uses Attributes and Aspirations for FoNS the sections in bold refer to the units he takes
While studying Leonard is also thinking about the future and in AA3 for FoNS – About Imperial College he visits the Careers Service and attends the Engineering and Science careers fair to help him decide if he wants to move into a PhD or an industry job.
He has found a PhD in Aberdeen that he is interested in applying for however, as he knows he will be applying for other roles as well he uses the STAR approach as described in CVA5 – Application Forms and DTS3 – Evidencing your Skills to start collecting answers to different questions. In this unit he works on an answer to the question ‘When have you led a project’ and with advice from the Careers Service he refines his answer to make it more concise. Then in DTS4 – Evidencing Your Motivation Leonard looks at further developing the bank of information he can use for applications by looking at what evidence he can provide to prove his motivation.
While working on writing tasks like his course work and application forms Leonard uses Strict Workflow to help increase his concentration he learns about this and other productivity tools in EE5 for FoNS – Practical Tools and he then makes use of the Inclusive Technology webpages at Imperial.
During his master’s Leonard is working on a group project and WWO1 for FoNS – Working in a Team helps to explore group dynamics and how different skills and personality traits make a difference. Leonard completes an online test to find out what his ideal role is within a group, then reflects on that when selecting group roles. Part of effective teamwork is being able to set boundaries and in WWO3 for FoNS – Saying No Leonard discovers the different ways of saying no and how they are used in different situations. The unit also explores how people may feel when being told no.
Finally, Leonard is accepted on the PhD programme and moves to Aberdeen. In EE3 for FoNS – Organisation and Prioritisation he uses prioritisation theories to help him settle in and sort out the important aspects of moving to a new place. Like finding somewhere to live and joining a new book club.