The Past Three Years

With less than two months left at University and our dissertation hand-in looming, I wanted to have a chance to look back on the past three years.

I remember my first class and the look on everyone’s face when we were asked ‘what is PR?’ It’s fair to say, not many of us knew. Well, after three years I still probably couldn’t give you a perfect CIPR definition, but I am definitely much more confident when faced with that question.

Our first year was also the time we met Gerard Choo, one of the few faces we would see regularly throughout our uni life – from our first PR Skills seminar to our dissertation lectures.

While writing my 12,000 word dissertation I laugh at my 1^st year self, when our exams consisted of writing tweets and I honestly thought I did not know enough words to write a 1,500 word essay. Luckily, I struggled through always remembering and telling my friends you can do -10% of the word count.

Second year came and after a while, the daunting prospect of getting a placement was upon us. Life did not seem worth living if you didn’t get one! Well, after many extremely long applications and a few interviews, I didn’t get one but I’m still standing. Although I can definitely see the benefits of doing a placement year, which you will hear many times from Lucy Laville, it is not the end of the world if you don’t!

Entering final year and we were with the fourth years; the ones who had worked in industry for a whole year and didn’t we know it. After some initial competitive rivalry, we actually all managed to get on, and it was a chance to meet new people and learn from each other. Dare I say it; the fourth years may have even learned a few things from us third years…

These past three years have gone a lot quicker than I thought they would and now I know why everyone says, make the most of your time at university. I definitely believe we’ve all grown up and are ready to face the big, bad world (maybe after a bit of travelling).

So what will I miss most about uni life? Living with friends, going out, doing what I want… but a part of me will miss university and maybe even a small part, Gerard Choo.

This post was written by final year student Elyssa Desai. Elyssa has gained experience at Prohibition PR and has worked with STA Travel, Student Wire and Cheapflights.co.uk.