This September, I graduated high school,
turned 18 years old, and moved from the USA to England all in just a few short
weeks. At first I wasn’t sure if I was being brave or just crazy!
It turns out that making the decision to
come study here at Bucks has been no less than a life-changing experience thus
far. I’ve been given the amazing opportunity to study a course I love,
internationally, while playing a sport I’m passionate about (football) in its founding
country. I am in Sport and Exercise Science here at Bucks and I could not be
more interested in all the things we’re learning. The course is very focused,
and we have been given hands-on experience right from day one. The equipment in
our lab is amazing, and as if it weren’t good enough already, Bucks is
generously funding the construction of an even bigger lab to be built for next
year!
Photo: Gemma in the white kit playing for her club in the USA.
Photo: Gemma in the white kit playing for her club in the USA.
Bucks is particularly good at combining
sport with academia, so that it’s easy for students to get active and play
sport while studying. I play for Reading Football Club as well as the
University team, and Bucks has made it possible for me to play at a world-class
level with Reading while continuing my education. We train every day (sometimes
twice a day), and getting to and from training is made easy for us. I am very
thankful that Bucks is supporting us to train every day and improve our skills,
on and off the pitch.
We’ve also been given opportunity to get
involved in some outside experiences with coaching. Bucks’ connections with the
Wycombe Wanderers and Berks & Bucks FA is a very useful link for us as
prospectus students of sport.
Thankfully, we’re not all business here at Bucks. Our University football team has been
doing exceedingly well in our league, and with that, comes celebrations. The
Students Union puts on great Wednesday nights and the team morale is always
high. We’re much like a family on Bucks FC, and this makes game and training
days highly anticipated. Bucks is also a very well-rounded university, so I’ve
made life-long friends from all kinds of different courses outside of football
as well. Life is great when you love the people you’re around!
People
often ask me why I decided to come to England for University. Many young
English women look to go to America because they offer elite athletics to their
students. I know that the grass always looks greener on the other side of the
ocean, but Bucks offered me a better deal overall. I can play football at
a very elite level here, at the same time as attending university, just like at
home. But my degree is much more focused here, without a lot of off-topic
classes not relevant to my career choice. Some of my friends in the USA
are enrolled in classes such as, "French Literature", or "Intro
to Philosophy", which are fine and important topics...just maybe not for a
Sport Science student like me. Then, having such a "focused"
course means that there is a great savings in time and money. An
equivalent course in the USA would take four years, whereas I will be done in
three here at Bucks.
Looking back, my crazy/brave decision was
worth it. I couldn’t be happier with what I’m doing here at Bucks. It has been
an amazing experience so far and I look forward to my next two and a half years
here.
