Making the most of opportunities – Alumni Stories, James Smith

One of the things that can help graduates most when they start to navigate life after University is making the most of opportunities available to them while still students. We were delighted to hear from 2017 Psychology graduate, James Smith, who told us how the additional experiences he gained as a student helped give him an advantage when it came to life after York St John.

‘I feel as though so many students study a programme like psychology, and then finish with limited experience besides their degree,’ James told us. ‘I achieved a First in my degree, but from my experience this alone isn’t enough to progress in a Psychology-related career. At my graduation ceremony in November 2017, many of the graduates from my cohort were discussing how they were struggling with careers due to the expectation of additional experience. However, I do believe there are opportunities for individuals to gain experience whilst studying.’

During his three years as a student, James spent time volunteering with UK student mental health charity, Student Minds. ‘Given the number of Psychology students who look for careers working in mental health, spending time with charities such as Student Minds provides invaluable relative experience. The volunteering work that I experienced required some time commitment but this was so rewarding and looks excellent on a CV after University,’ James explained. ‘Our YSJ team won a Student Minds award, even though we were up against teams from the likes of the University of Oxford. If you’re able to reference experiences like this when it comes to speaking with potential employers, it can go a long way to making you stand out against what is usually a very competitive pool of applicants.’

Throughout his three years, James continued to make the most of the opportunities available to him, including (as part of his work module in second year) volunteering for North Yorkshire Horizons, an integrated drug and alcohol recovery service for North Yorkshire. In his final year, James began paid employment with United Response, a Charity providing a range of support services for adults and young people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs or physical disabilities. ‘I worked approximately two days a week as a relief support worker, supporting individuals with learning disabilities. This was in a cafe environment, Cafe West, training individuals to eventually progress onto actual paid employment themselves. Once again, this was excellent experience for a future clinical career.’

During his final year, James found his additional experiences beginning to come to fruition, ‘I applied to the University of Warwick for an extremely competitive MSc in Clinical Applications of Psychology and, unexpectedly, I received an offer for an interview. I was on track for a First degree in my programme at York St John, but I knew that being offered an interview for Warwick was heavily dependent on the additional experience I had accrued alongside my degree, not just my academic merit.’ Despite getting an interview, James wasn’t offered a place at Warwick, which he feels showcases just how competitive the course is; he is however now very happily studying a MSc in Mental Health Research at the University of Nottingham.

James also reflected on how being awarded a scholarship at York St John made a significant difference on his ability to take up more opportunities., ‘I received scholarship funds for achieving good A level grades and bursary funds for being from a low income household, with these I was able to fund a five week mental health placement in Sri Lanka with SLV. This provided me with excellent experience relevant to mental health and clinical psychology. It’s important to me that the University, and people who have donated to support the scholarship programme at York St John, know that funds I received were used for something so worthwhile, helping me to do something wonderful  while working towards a successful future career in mental health, that would not have been possible otherwise.’

‘I felt it was really important for me to share the excellent experience I gained in mental health during my degree, and to emphasise what current students can achieve if they make the most of opportunities that are available to them.’

Thank you for sharing this with us James, It’s great to hear about the value you’ve gained from your involvement with additional opportunities.

If you have a story like James, then get in touch! We’d love to hear from you. Just send an e-mail to Alumni@yorksj.ac.uk