Juwayriah Bhana

Juwayriah is studying BSc Educational Psychology.

On choosing Manchester

I initially didn’t think I would make it this far in education, let alone get accepted to a Russell Group university. It had been a goal for me since college that I get into university as I would be the first in my family to go.

I picked to study at The University of Manchester because when I attended a research programme, I enjoyed every moment. It showed me what student life is like, and that’s when I knew that I would fit in. This was also a big change for me as I was the only one in my friendship group to come here.

On studying educational psychology

I specifically choose Educational Psychology because I value my education a lot, as both my parents did not even make it past high school. They didn’t prioritise education for themselves, but they made many sacrifices for me and my family to have the best education.

There have been two highlights of my course so far. One of these highlights has been a lecturer that is always so supportive and positive all the time. He has helped me build my confidence to speak out in front of my peers and challenge him on his views to which I did not always agree with. This has inspired me to always share my views and be firm on what I believe in even if it may mean others will challenge me.

The second thing is that I have made friends that bring so much positivity around me and inspire me to do the best in everything I do. It was a scary thought at first for me to make a whole new friendship group but I managed to do it and I am very grateful to have them.

On my placements

As part of my course, I took part in work experience organised by my lecturers. I choose to work in a primary school to see how elements of my course are portrayed in the school environment. As my course focuses on children and their psychological development, it was very beneficial to be in a classroom setting filled with children and trying to understand the life of a child.

It made me realise the true reason as to why I choose to study this course, which is because I love children and I want to see how they develop from a being a child leading up to their adolescence years. I find it fascinating how so much of psychology is implemented in the real world and used universally. I observed it being used in the school environment and it helped me see how my future career could be, in a similar way working with children. I purely observed the children and staff in a classroom environment, and I learnt a lot about children individually and as a whole.

On my experience of Manchester

The best thing about the city of Manchester is that we all have so much freedom to express ourselves in any way we want, and we are not judged for it. I have lived in Manchester all my life and I do sometimes take it for granted as I am free to practise my religion, express my views and opinions, and nothing is restricted for me.

We have so many festivals, events, clothes, food from all parts of the world in just one city, and we are free to explore these all the different aspects whether we are part of the culture or not.