My name is Colm and I’m currently working for a department in UCD called Student Recruitment.

I volunteered to write this blog about my UCD experience over the years so that students and prospective students can read and comment on it. I was hoping to give information which you cannot get from school talks or Careers Fairs. I want to give information about the ‘Student Experience’ - basically giving students a mix of advice, wisdom, insight or simply an entertaining story. 

(That's me in the middle!) 

A note about myself:

I’m a postgraduate student of UCD. I’ve a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) joint honours degree in ‘History & Politics’ and a Masters of Arts (M.A.) degree in ‘The History of International Relations’. I studied both my undergraduate and postgraduate at this University. It was such an amazing experience I’m delighted to have the opportunity to represent the University now and learn and develop some new skills that will ultimately help me with my career afterward... 

I’ve now been working for Student Recruitment for over a year, for me it's a perfect break from my academic career. I ultimately intend doing a Ph.D. in due course as that's where my passion lies.

A University experience:

University itself is an exciting and liberating experience. It’s a chance to develop into the person you want to be. Your University experience is defined by what you put into it. 

The best advice I could impart about your time at University is to get involved. This is something you will hear emphasized by many students and past students.

UCD was much more than just an academic experience for me, I developed so much, socially and personally; in a career sense it has opened up paths for me that I never knew existed. I’m passionate about my experience at UCD and I hope that shows through in my writing.

Why attend University? 
University gives you the possibility of three to four years to do anything you want, to try something new, to meet new people and to find out more about yourself, it’s an opportunity to experiment, to get involved in different things and see what ultimately makes you happy. 

It may put you in a better position for employment after University, you may have a better idea what career you want to get involved in and if you enjoy it like I did, it will be an experience you won’t forget.