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Describe your time at UCL in three words: Inclusive, Challenging, Exploration.
Nathan Yang
BA Geography with Social Data Science
California, USA
What attracted you to UCL?
The prospect of attending a world-class university whilst being in a city I wanted to live in on the other side of the world from home was the main attraction! I wanted to be at a university that would challenge me academically but also allows me to explore a new city, country and continent. And the opportunity and access to future careers made UCL the best choice for me.
What aspects of your studies do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy the variety that my programme provides in that it exposes students to a wide range of studies and topics in the modules offered. My department connects us with various guest speakers and many professors are leading experts in their field which all allows us to better understand the broad concepts and specific structures of each module. Also, the interdisciplinary nature of my course allows me to make friends and connections with a wide variety of students in many different degree paths. We all enjoy learning from each other about our experiences, modules, and research.
What makes you most proud to be a UCL student?
Walking into the main campus each day to attend lectures, I look up to see the main Wilkins Building and I know that I am very lucky to be attending such a diverse and encompassing university in the heart of one of the best cities in the world. Also, it makes me proud to know that I have made lifelong, meaningful connections with people who share similar experiences to me and have the same drive to excel in whatever they wish to do.
What are some of the most interesting things you have done, seen, or got involved with while at UCL?
I have been lucky enough to lead a few societies at UCL where we not only hosted events that helped students learn or discover, such as guest speaker events, but enjoyed social events that allowed me to make so many new friends from different degrees and different parts of the world. Also, my department holds field trips, so in my first year, my entire cohort of about 100 students travelled to Barcelona for Reading Week to conduct both environmental and social field work. It was a fantastic experience, and it was a great way to help me understand how to do real world research that helped me throughout my degree.
What advice would you give to a student considering UCL?
As an international undergraduate student at UCL, I would say make sure you understand and enjoy what you will study. Unlike universities in other countries, UK universities somewhat throw you straight into your focus of study so make sure you know that it is what you want to do for a few more years. You can even reach out to current students (like me!) for advice. Also, while coming to UCL may be daunting, just know that everyone coming into first year is in your same shoes. Don’t be afraid to start that connection because they will certainly be as nervous and curious as you are!
What are your future ambitions and how do you think that being a UCL student will help you get there?
Ultimately, my future ambitions would be to get into the working world to get experience. With my social data science background from my degree, I hope to use the hard skills that I have learned paired with the soft, more social skilled that I have gained through being at UCL in my future career. And I think that not only does the reputation of UCL as a global university help in employment, but I think that as a student, I have been exposed to many of the things that come with life’s challenges. UCL’s Careers Service and my department staff have already supported me immensely in my pursuit of work experience and I’m thinking possibly about post-graduate study once I find what I want to specialise in.
Describe your time at UCL in three words.
Inclusive, Challenging, Exploration.