Simona Mohammad
- Course
- Natural Sciences BSc
- Subject area
- Natural Sciences
One of the main features that has attracted me about Loughborough University was the fact that it was offering a placement with my course. Moreover, it was highly ranked despite not being a Russell Group university. I thought at that time: “Surely, there must be something special about this university.”
I was impressed by the positive vibes I was receiving from the students and noticed how happy they looked, and the friendly environment among the staff. It was my first time experiencing what I would later call the “Loughborough bubble”. This was not the first university I had visited but could clearly feel the difference in atmosphere, something that I could not feel it from the other universities.
Like many fellow natural scientist students, when I was applying for university, I was not quite ready to specialise in one STEM subject over the other. It was also the thrill and the challenge of carrying two STEM subjects which in my case is Chemistry and Mathematics. There have been many occasions where I found the course to be rewarding like a view that you get to see once you have climbed on the top of a mountain.
The diversity in terms of STEM subjects is the thing I enjoy most about my course. Since you can pick a mixture of any two subjects offered in the list by the course, you end up getting quite an interesting mixture of students. Discussions or presentations are always very interesting, because you might start with one main common topic, but this branches out widely within the different perspective of the different disciplines. This both opens your mind and gives you further point of views to look at. Additionally, the facilities are fantastic and high tech. I was lucky enough to have access to the STEMLab after it has been opened very recently, just about a year or two ago from my start of the course.
The feeling of being part of community is the best part of being a Loughborough student.
Every time I come back, I can breathe in the air, the motivation, the discipline, the drive coming from students. Maybe this is exactly because Loughborough is sport university, where you find students pushing the limits both academically and in sport; two worlds that have always been stereotypically known to be clashing against each other, yet here they coexist. Also, I had the pleasure to be chosen as the second WIS (Women in Science) ambassador. As the year has gone by, with new recruits coming in, it was exciting to see how this scheme has been growing and how it is starting to influence prospective and current students. I hope it will continue to grow and carried forwarded by the future students even once I have graduated.
My advice to students considering Natural Sciences would be if you are hardworking and have a drive for a challenge, you will find that Natural Sciences is exactly what you are looking for.
I used to stress a lot regarding my future because I never knew and still do not know what I would like to do. However, during my placement I have learnt that my fear for my future career derives from an unconscious belief that I must stick to one career for the rest of my life when in fact this is not true. Now I see my indecision as an opportunity to choose and embrace between many options.