Meet the Advocates in the Health Sciences team

Posted on November 19, 2021November 18, 2021 by study.skills

by Emma Ford, Bristol Futures Advocate

I am very excited to introduce you to your new Health Science Bristol Futures Student Advocates! We are a small group of six, very friendly, current University of Bristol students. This year we hope to share our years of experience with you. You can participate by signing up for our workshops, attending our peer support sessions, and reading our blog. So, watch this space!

Carys James

Year and course: Veterinary Science – 4th year
Fun fact: I have a pet African pygmy hedgehog
Study tip: Make sure you go back over lectures throughout the whole course of the year instead of leaving it until a few weeks before exams to cover all of the content. This will keep your memory refreshed and improve it long term.

Sina Gilannejad

Year and course: Dentistry – 5th year
Fun fact: In first year I featured in the dental school’s YouTube video “a day in the life of a Bristol dental student” and now 33,000 have seen my terrible haircut at the time…
Study tip: Ask for help and advice from the older years! They’ve been in your position, got the grades to prove it and can give you pointers on how to pass with flying colours!

Molly Jackson

Year and course: 2nd year PhD student – translational health sciences
Fun fact: I sold a necklace to the comedian Jon Richardson when I had a job at a jewellery shop.
Study tip: Split down your revision into 5 steps to help manage your workload: record, reduce, recite, reflect, and review!

Chelsie Bailey

Year and course: final year vet.
Fun fact: I have a first degree in animal behaviour and welfare from Bristol.
Study tip: Study over longer period (e.g., months) instead of cramming lots into a few weeks to allow my very dyslexic brain to have time to process it and understand.

Jess Mounty

Year and course: 4th year Veterinary Science
Fun fact: Before starting at Bristol, I studied Zoology at UCL
Study tip: I have found it helpful to treat University like a full-time job, sticking to 9am-5pm working hours

Emma Ford

Year and course: 4^th year veterinary science
Fun fact: No one can ever guess where I am from because my accent is quite uncharacteristic from growing up in international schools.
Study tip: Make your own questions when going over your notes! It helps your brain work, and the better you get at it, the more your questions will start to resemble the ones you could get on your exams! It’s especially helpful if you can get other students involved so you make a database of questions! It’s a great resource to build over the course of the year so when you get to exams you have a lot of questions to practice!

You can find current drop-in times & locations for Health Science students on our Peer Support page on Blackboard.

Meet the Advocates in the Social Sciences and Law team

Posted on November 18, 2021November 15, 2021 by study.skills

by Michelle Kafe, Bristol Futures Advocate

This year the Study Skills department has some amazing new and returning Student Advocates. The Social Sciences and Law division has a dedicated team of students, all of whom are more than excited to dive into the year ahead.

Up first, we have Michelle Kafe, who is a second year LLB Law student. The aspect of Law she most enjoys is finding and applying as much legislation as she can to support her arguments. As a first-time advocate, Michelle has already had great experiences teaching workshops and looks forward to further engaging with this in the future.

Corrin Bramley is in her third year of postgraduate research study at Bristol, working towards a PhD in Politics with a project about political leadership in the United States. An interesting fact about Corrin is that she is quite the voyager and has lived in multiple places across England and Scotland -not including her exciting year abroad in California! Corrin most enjoys the independent nature of her studies and has a deep appreciation for how this allows her to apply the skills from previous education into creating her very own passion-project.

Ali Strokova is a third-year student in BSc Education Studies. This is Ali’s first year as a Student Advocate and she has already shown her enthusiasm and a readiness to support her peers and show them that they are not alone in their educational struggles. A fun fact about Ali is that she likes to microwave her ice-cream before eating it!

Anaya Price is from Trinidad and Tobago and is in her second year of undergraduate LLB Law. Anaya credits the pleasure of her course to her specifically chosen modules -namely Family Law, Medical Law and Crime Justice and Society- which she feels have real-life appeal and are expressed daily in our society. As a first-time advocate, she is excited to meet new people, help, and also learn from others.

Born and raised in Italy, our next advocate, Manshika Arjoon, is a third year Economics and Finance student. This is Manshika’s second year of being a Student Advocate and she delights in her ability to share her university experiences and insights with other students. She also looks forward to holding in-person sessions, as this was not possible in her last year.

Tala Youhana has joined the Student Advocate team this year and looks forward to being part of a friendly team and community of students, as well as engaging with the breadth of activities we have planned. As a second-year law student, Tala values the distinction between black-letter law and the open nature of its applications to society. Tala has already shown her enthusiasm via her involvement in writing articles and running workshops for the Study Skills team. A fun fact about Tara is that she has never won a game of Monopoly!

Evidently, the entire team is excited to begin the new academic year, take on new challenges, and provide support for our peers. This fantastic group of students -and a few more- are ready to run workshops, host drop-in sessions and lead tutorials in the most encouraging and useful way possible.

You can find current drop-in times & locations for Social Science & Law students on our Peer Support page on Blackboard.

Meet the Advocates in the Life Sciences team

Posted on November 17, 2021November 15, 2021 by study.skills

We are Bristol Futures Advocates from the faculty of Life Sciences. Our role is to support you in your studies and help you expand your skills.

Aisling Mahony

Hi, I’m Aisling! I’m currently in my third year at Bristol studying Biochemistry and this is my second year as an advocate on the Life Sciences team. I decided to work in the Bristol Futures team after the pandemic caused a switch to online learning. I had used the Personal Development Plan throughout my first year of university to help plan my growth both within my studies and in my career journey, so I understood how beneficial Bristol Futures and Study Skills can be to students. My experience as an advocate has been really rewarding and I’ve really enjoyed working with other advocates in the Life Sciences team to deliver workshops and run peer support sessions.

Breanna Goff

Hello, my name is Breanna and I am a third-year Psychology student. I have been working as a student advocate for a month now and I am loving it so far. I was interested in becoming an advocate as I wanted to contribute to the ever-developing learning environment we offer to Bristol students. The job itself is also really flexible for anyone looking for a job within uni. Since being a student advocate, I have worked with the amazing Life Sciences team to create workshops and develop future plans for Study Skills as a whole. Not only has this been an enjoyable experience so far but it has also allowed me to refine my own study skills to apply to my degree.

Carol Huang

Hey, I’m Carol. I’m a year 2 Plant Sciences student from the School of Biological Sciences. Throughout my first year Study Skills tutorials have helped me break down reports and essays, it really helps to have a look from a generic perspective to stop me from getting carried away in subject knowledge and forgetting the basics.

Emily Thomas

Hello, my name is Emily and I’m a year 3 student in Biomedical Sciences. I started working as an advocate this year, I thought it would be a great way to develop professional skills whilst contributing to the wider university community. I really valued the opportunities offered by Bristol Futures as a whole such as the Bristol Plus Award and found the online resources on Blackboard have some helpful tips on how to adjust to university-style learning and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. This made me keen to get involved as I already had experience with Bristol Futures as a student.

Martina Mattioli

Hey, I’m Martina! I began my journey as a student advocate in September and it’s been a great experience so far! It’s really rewarding to be able to help students both in drop-in sessions and workshops. I really enjoy the sense of community Bristol Futures tries to build; it isn’t always easy to feel a part of something at university because there is so much going on. I decided to become a student advocate because during my first year Study Skills tutors helped me a lot in my studies and adjusting not only to studying at university but also online learning and I wanted to be able to do the same for other students.

Jasmin Rahman

Hello, I’m Jasmin, I’m in my 3^rd year of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. I have been a Bristol Futures advocate for a year and since starting my advocate role I have definitely become a more self-aware learner. It’s taught me to experiment with my learning rather than sticking to old revision methods as a force of habit. I’ve really enjoyed engaging with so many different students last year and I’m looking forward to doing more in-person advocate work this year!

Sabrina Choong

Hi, I’m Sabrina! I’m a 3rd-year Biochemistry student. This is my second year as a Bristol Futures advocate, I joined because I wanted to try something new and to feel what being a part of the university community is like as not just a student. It’s been really enjoyable being able to meet new people and help other students like myself integrate better into university life. As a student what I found the most helpful thing about Study Skills are the workshops. If you don’t use any other services or features in Study Skills, I urge you to try out workshops you think might be useful to you because it has helped me immensely throughout university.

Book a workshop with us or come find us at our Drop-in sessions from 1pm-2pm on:

Mondays online
Wednesday in the Biomedical Sciences Café
Friday in the atrium of the Life Sciences building

We look forward to meeting you!

You can find current drop-in times & locations for Life Science students on our Peer Support page on Blackboard.

Student Advocate tips for… starting uni

Posted on October 7, 2021 by study.skills

Student wearing bright orange hoodie that reads: here to help

Our Bristol Futures Student Advocates come from every faculty in the university, and are here to support you to grow your skills and become an even better student.

With a few years’ experience under their belts, we asked them to share their top tips for starting uni. Here’s what they said…

Get organised

Check your emails regularly, they often have opportunities and helpful information that is easy to miss. It’s a great way to find out what is going on at the university and to stay in the loop. Natasha, 2nd year History

It is quite daunting to have so many course materials at the start of the term, one thing that I usually do is to download all of the lecture notes, slides, homework, and other important document to the university OneDrive, and then organize it. That way, when you are starting to work on a project / homework, you will have the required material at the tip of your hands! Ryan, 2nd Year Mathematics

Find what works for you

Try and find out what time of the day you have the most energy and motivation to do your work. For example, I know I am most productive in the morning and I am awful at working past 8pm, so I make sure to get up early in the morning to get started on work so I can have my evening off. Others however prefer to work later in the evening and get a rush of energy. Find out what works for you and use it! Breanna, 3rd year Psychology

When starting uni, especially first year, it’s a great time to experiment with different organization and note-taking methods, different ways to approach your learning. It’s a time to try new things and then picking what you like best. This way you’ll build habits that suit you that will stick with you throughout your studies. Martina, 2nd year Biochemistry with Medical Biochemistry

Get to grips with reading and taking notes

When tackling readings, don’t expect to immediately understand it after skim reading it. I’d recommend waiting a while and then writing out the key points you remember the most to find out what stood out to you.

Don’t expect to be able to remember everything from lectures or even understand. Reading around the subject (just bits you don’t know) is normal and don’t spend millions of hours doing.
Give yourself a few weeks (& different methods) of taking lectures/seminars information! But remember different lecturers give information in different ways. I would highly recommend a tablet to take notes on- lighter in weight and I was forever losing notes!

Look after yourself

Eat well, try to get enough sleep, make sure you schedule in time for rest and maybe even exercise. You will be better off for it later in the term! Emily, 3rd year Biomedical Sciences

Whether it is a night out, or watching a film with a friend, make you sure you treat yourself at least once a day by doing something that makes you excited for the next day. Emma, 4th year Veterinary Science

Don’t be afraid to reach out for help, whether it’s about your wellbeing or academics (your Study Skills peers and tutors!) are always there to help. Remember, you are not alone. There are a lot of resources available waiting for you to explore. Anaya, 2nd year Law

Try new things… and have fun!

Try getting involved with as much stuff as possible, whether that is societies, sports, extracurricular classes – say yes to as much as possible and make the most of the opportunities on offer! Jago, 3rd year Maths and Computer Science

Feeling pressured to do well and get good grades come hand-in-hand with starting university for a lot of people, but I can promise you that studying isn’t everything. University is all about learning and experiencing new things, and of course, studying is still important – there’s a lot to learn from books! But lift your head out of those books from time to time, there’s so much more you can learn when you explore and try new things outside of the classroom. Become a volunteer to teach young students, try out that new salsa dancing class, go cycling by the harbourside, these experiences will stay with you for a lifetime so don’t let them go to waste. Since university is all about learning, learn to have fun too! Sabrina, 3rd year Biochemistry

The student experience goes way beyond what is taught in the classroom and in your textbooks, and whilst that should/could be a priority, make sure you are taking advantage of everything else the student life has got to offer whether it’s volunteering, working part-time, joining a society, or a mixed combination of things. There are so many resources at your service, that you can use much or as little as you choose to. That being said, make sure you take plenty of time to rest and look after yourself when needed. Tala, 2nd year Law

Bristol Futures Student Advocates run peer support sessions for students in their faculty. Check out the Study Skills Blackboard page to see what’s coming up.

Student Perspective: A Bristol Futures Advocate’s Tale

Posted on June 21, 2021 by study.skills

We asked Iskandar Bin Suhaimi to reflect on his time as a Bristol Futures Student Advocate, promoting Bristol Futures and running peer-led workshops and drop-ins for Study Skills and Personal Development Planning (PDP).

One of the best things about being a Bristol Futures Advocate? Feeling like you are truly a part of the University community. Having been in the role for more than two years now (83% of my being a student!), I can confidently say that university was made much better because of this ‘part-time job’. Here are my reflections.

Community

Sitting restlessly with your partner-in-crime hoping for students to attend your drop-ins, trying your best to dispel the awkward silences during workshops, or even talking about your cats during monthly trainings. The little things I went through as an Advocate created experiences only the Bristol Futures team understood.

It also always excited me how closely I was working with university staff, especially the Study Skills team. Primarily, it helped me make sense of my student experience. The university was suddenly not just a bureaucratic entity you complain about on Bristruths, it’s filled with real, genuine people, working as hard at their job as me and you.

As an international student, being a part of such an inspiring and supportive team was truly invaluable. Being in a new country with a vastly different culture, developing camaraderie with the diverse team at Bristol Futures really provided me with the familiarity I needed to feel included and welcomed at Bristol. I felt, happily, part of the community.

Opportunities

One of the most memorable Advocate experiences was when Simon [Gamble, Head of Academic Study Skills] drove me and two other Advocates to a little farm in Chew Valley for a workshop presentation. Free cakes and coffee aside, the experience was particularly enjoyable because we got to engage with the wider community and appreciate the extent of our impact

I also particularly enjoyed manning the Bristol Futures booth at the Staff Welcome Fair. Instead of pitching our services to students, we were promoting it to new staff instead. Did I feel like an adult? You bet.

If there was one thing these opportunities taught me, it was definitely the importance of versatility in communication. Fun as they were, these experiences taught me how to adapt my conversations to different groups of people – and my confidence is all the better for it.

Purpose

Perhaps the main thing that drove me as an Advocate was the fulfilment I got from helping other students. Being an Advocate truly meant understanding and empathising with students’ concerns, and doing our best to help them. No matter what school, degree, or study level, if we could provide assistance, we would.

Consequently, I did not only grow as an employee, I also grew as a person. I think my fellow Advocates can attest to the satisfaction of making things just a bit easier for students. It’s the reason why I joined Bristol Futures, and it’s the reason why I stayed.

Student perspective: Sleepless in Bristol…memory challenged!

Posted on April 29, 2021 by study.skills

by Tracy Ohis, Bristol Futures Advocate

I know we do not know each other very well but I have a personal question to ask… How well have you been sleeping lately?

This blog aims to help you consider the importance of sleeping as you approach the final hurdle of summer term examinations. Previously, some friends seem to hold a badge of honour for “pulling an all-nighter” of studying, encouraged by the wings of a famous drink or two that is highly caffeine loaded, enough to probably sink the titanic all over again. Yet there are many other reasons why people are not getting enough ZZ’s at night as COVID19 and somewhat beyond has taxed our general mental capacity. Even though we may have enjoyed the novelty of taking Zoom meetings with lecturers in PJs (not guilty!), this may have led to a complacent attitude when compared to the academic vibe surroundings of the university’s esteemed walls.

Lack of sleep vs Memory recall

As we continue to navigate the discovery channel of new information, our memory may find it problematic to retain at least half a day’s worth of study material before a test with a limited supply of sleep. The medical advice states to aim for 7-8 hours of sleep and I must admit this was a struggle at times even before starting my academic journey. The physical long-distance study amongst other things triggered a spiral that I needed to address and with some help from the university Wellbeing department and smarter planning of my time, I was able to develop a solution that has been useful most of the time to suit my needs. I hastily add that any plans you create will be unique to fit into your lifestyle and adjusted with some measure of flexibility. Ideally, accounting for unfortunate circumstances beyond our control forbiddingly other lockdowns per se ‘throws a spanner in the works’. If you would like to know more on how you can incorporate planning into your routine, you could meet with a tutor from Study Skills to discuss and even attend a workshop.

The experts say

Scientifically, a view taken that academic performance based on the early to rise approach resulted in higher achievers as opposed to the total hours of sleep and other factors (Eliasson 2010). Whilst another investigation of 61 undergraduates were focused on those from 2^nd year and onwards, used a diary and mathematical science to conclude that irregular sleep patterns affected academic performance negatively (Phillips 2017). Indeed, a further point is that lack of sleep if left long term could potentially develop into insomnia and other health issues, so seeking help from your GP or nurse is a thought worth some consideration. A takeaway message is to remember you are not alone and it is good to have this conversation even with a friend, you might find that there are likeminded colleagues who will be keen to develop a community to support each other as mentors as suggested by this article (Cort-Blackson 2018).

Getting back on track

In identifying a problem exists and deciding that you want to make those baby steps towards changing behaviour is indeed a feat to be encouraged. Take time to view some YouTube videos or Google on how to improve your sleep could be a good investment of your academic performance. Some suggestions that could be helpful:

Turning your phone or other electronics off 2 hours before bed.
Making your bedroom space clutter free.
Doing some form of exercise (aerobic or yoga) during the day.

Which one of these will you try? Do let us know. All the best in your exams and I hope this blog has been useful to you.