Graduation success - celebrating Study Group alumni

Graduation success – celebrating Study Group alumni

Thousands of Study Group students who successfully progressed from their foundation programme to higher education graduate from university and head into the world of work every year. We catch up with several Study Group alumni, who share how their pathway course helped them achieve their degree and access employment opportunities.

Nutta-uea’s story

Summer 2021 marked the first cohort of Study Group’s Durham University International Study Centre students graduating from their undergraduate degrees at the university. Nutta-uea from Thailand who was part of this cohort successfully graduated with a BSc in Chemistry from Durham University and shares her story with us:

“I mean, who wouldn’t be proud with a bachelor’s degree, especially from Durham University.

“It’s quite difficult to get a degree from Durham, so to come out as a graduate is quite an awesome thing to think about, really.

“It is quite a privilege to be studying outside of your home country. I mean, it opens your eyes and everything.

“After studying chemistry, it opens up a lot of things for you. I mean, if you see, everything around you is chemistry.

“I’m more interested in the drug discovery part of chemistry. So hopefully one day I’ll have my name on a patent that says I created and discovered a new drug or medicine that could help the world.

“At this point, I don’t think I have everything set in stone. I mean, I’m at a junction where I must choose between work or postgrad – but I’m leaning more towards postgrad.

“So, I’ll be applying to universities in Korea and Singapore and hopefully get in. And then hopefully in five years’ time, I’ll be a PhD holder, in Chemistry of course, and be working in some reputable company or in a university where I can inspire a new generation of scientists.”

Watch this video to learn more about Nutta-uea’s journey.

Bashar’s story

Bashar from Kuwait completed an International Foundation Year at Study Group’s University of Huddersfield International Study Centre in 2018. In 2021, he graduated from the university with a first-class honours degree in Chemical Engineering. Bashar has extremely fond memories of his time studying at the International Study Centre and is planning to return as a teacher this academic year.

“I won the Letter of Confirmation for the Highest Achiever, I also got the Chemical Engineering prize for my second year and, in my third year, for the top graduate from my programme. Two days ago, I reminded myself, I’m a graduate! What I have achieved is perfect, I’m very very proud and very happy.

“My goal is to settle here, I feel like there are memories close to my heart here, this is where I studied. Whether it’s Huddersfield or the whole UK, the future I feel will be here.

“I remember when I was a student, I was always wondering – what is the teacher thinking. So now it is an opportunity to swap places, I’ll be the teacher and I’ll see students who are in the place exactly where I was. As they are all international students, maybe I’ll be humbler because I feel them, and I feel what they are going through. I feel like I can give them a sense of comfort maybe.”

Leonardo’s story

Leonardo from Ecuador studied the Taylors College Sydney Foundation Program (Intensive) in Australia in 2014/15. He then went on to gain a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Civil Engineering, studying for more than five years at the University of Sydney. Leonardo shares his future plans with us:

“I initially started thinking that I really wanted to become a civil engineer and I’ve always thought that I do want to start my own business. I thought that my degree would be a stepping-stone to something greater.

“If I go back to my home country Ecuador, I would like to improve the quality of whatever it is I end up doing there. If it’s research, I want to push through and make whatever we produce in Ecuador better. The same thing goes, if I end up working in education, I want to really push the boundaries for that.”

Watch this video to learn more about Leonardo’s story.

Freya’s Story

Freya from China studied at the DePaul University Global Gateway Program and in 2021 graduated from DePaul with a Master of Science in Finance. Freya shares her thoughts on her experience:

“I am now working as a General Analyst in an investment banking brokerage company in downtown Chicago. It has been really interesting and meaningful to me. I love the city, my job and the entire industry I am working in.

“My master's degree in Finance that I gained from DePaul has been really helpful to me. It lays a solid foundation for my career in the finance industry. To be specific, my current role requires me to have professional sense and ability over dealing with bond transactions and tracking revenues, data, etc. The courses I have learned in DePaul really helps me a lot when I do my daily job. Of course, my knowledge obtained in school helped me to get all my past and current jobs during every interview process.”

Study Group CEO Emma Lancaster congratulates Study Group alumni on their graduation success:

“Congratulations to all Study Group alumni on your well-deserved success. On behalf of everyone at Study Group, we are incredibly proud of your achievements and how hard you have worked to reach your goals.

“The future is very bright, and we have no doubt that you will excel at the start of your careers and fulfil your ambitions. Congratulations once again and we wish our alumni all the absolute best for the future.”