Young students (18 to 25)

A big worry for me, when I started studying with the OU, was the social aspect that seems missing when compared to traditional university. I have commented before that the course forums are vastly underused, so you won’t find much company there. The Facebook groups might be ok for some, but I find them intimidating. 

I’m really glad that I started writing this blog because in putting my own little thoughts out into the world, I have attracted like minded people to start a dialogue. Of course, it’s not quite the same social life most people would associate with uni, but it suits me just fine. I’ve always loved having pen pals!

I’m really glad that fellow YSA and blogger, Hayley, decided to email me. We have found so much in common, it’s great to talk to someone that just gets it! (Hi Hayley!) If you haven’t already had a look at her blog, you can find it here! She is much better at doing video blogs than me, I promise I will try to rectify this asap.

I’m having intermittent email contact with a few other students, it’s just nice to know that people are out there! When you feel like you’re studying in a vacuum it’s nice to know that other people are feeling just like you. When I’m feeling isolated, I often visit the blogs page on Platform just to see what everyone else is up to, give it a go! Your new best friend might be waiting…sounds creepy but, honestly, you’ll make a blogger’s day by saying hi and letting them know you appreciate them writing!

In Guernsey we have a Careers Fair each year so that young people can get more information about the wealth of options available locally. It is not restricted to the islands school aged people, it is open to anyone who is considering a career change and just wants to see what’s out there.

These events are vital for school pupils who are making decisions about which exams to take without knowing which qualifications are useful in their chosen field. It’s also a good opportunity to find out whether or not university is desired/required and a few universities were represented there. 

I was somewhat surprised to see a stand at the show from the Open University because it is certainly not something that I was made aware of as an option whilst I was at school. I went up to have a chat with the guy manning the stall only to find that he was actually nothing to do with the OU. He was from the local education department and he was just helping a friend by manning the stall.

I think it’s a real shame that the inner workings of the OU aren’t joined up enough so that I could have been involved. Writing this blog has landed me the position of Young Student Ambassador and I would have been happy to go and man the stand for a few hours had I been given the chance. Instead there was a guy who knew relatively little about the OU and wasn’t really on the same level as the young people that attended the fair. I am hoping that next time this fair comes to Guernsey I will be able to get involved.

We also have a higher education fair where many universities are represented for those considering moving on to HE, I hope that if the OU is involved with that, I can be too!

Hello all! This is just a quickie, as I should really be doing my assignment right now. It has just come to my attention that a group for ‘young’ students (18-25 year olds) has been set up on PLATFORM. This is a place where we can network and have online discussions. I thought it might be beneficial for you to read other perspectives on OU life (as I am hopelessly biased!). If any of you are interested copy and paste this into your browser:

http://www8.open.ac.uk/platform/groups/young-students-18-25

Also, I have just received a shiny new flip camera, so watch this space for my first ever video blog!