Top 4 Ways to Make the Most of Your University Experience

A recent Cardiff Met grad shares her top tips for how you can succeed in school.

This article was written by Alice Jefferis.

In July 2022 I graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan University with a BSc (Hons) Nutrition at Cardiff Met (now BSc (Hons) Food Science & Nutrition). Now, I’m working as a Policy and Project Support Officer for a unit in the Queensland Government (Australia) — a role which four years ago I would not have seen myself as capable of undertaking.

Reflecting back, I realize how much I learnt during my time at Cardiff Met — not just in terms of academic content, but in a broader sense too. I could probably write pages about my four years there, but I will keep it short and sweet for your sake! If I was to summarize the four major lessons that I learnt at Cardiff Met, it would be as follows:

1. Surround yourself with the right people

I started my foundation year with no confidence in myself — having dropped out of a different university previously — and had a non-existent work ethic. However, I was lucky enough to make some great friends soon after starting at Cardiff Met who, in addition to being amazing people, were driven and knew how to apply themselves to their work. Being surrounded by these people, I started to transform my work ethic, which carried me through both my foundation year and degree.

2. Get outside of your comfort zone

When I started the course, I was terrified of speaking up in lectures (as I know many people are). However, the teaching staff really encouraged participation and often reminded us that “9 times out of 10, if you have a question, someone else is probably wondering the same.” As I got out of my comfort zone and started to get involved in discussions, I noticed how much more I was taking away with me from lectures.

With this, the quality of my work really started to improve. By my final year, I felt very engaged with the course and had developed a strong interest in public / global health, policy processes, and sustainable development.

3. Get involved in as much as possible; and network!

The nutrition team would often notify us of work experience opportunities, which I involved myself in as much as possible. This led to me gaining experience as a volunteer research assistant with Public Health Wales, as well as being part of a ‘zero waste’ food project within the university.

I also reached out to a number of organizations and found myself in a volunteer content creation role for a UK sugar / salt awareness group. This was a great way to gain experience and an understanding of how knowledge is applied in the ‘real world’. It’s also a good way to make connections and meet some really inspiring people!

4. What you’re learning is more transferable than you think

The academic skills that we are taught at Cardiff Met (e.g critical thinking, data analysis, presenting, etc.) are far more transferable than I ever thought they would be, and come to my rescue in my current job almost every day. I never thought I would see the day I would be thankful for my assignments!