Onwards and Upwards

By Ayanah Gulfraz

Having completed my first semester, I now have experience meeting assignment deadlines independently, living the ‘flat life’, and most recently, taking university exams! It wasn’t incredibly easy but with a good support system around me – friends and family – I made it and now can say I have settled in and am comfortable. I can now turn my attention to the second semester, improving myself, and ultimately towards passing this year so I may progress onto the next. 

The prospect of progressing towards parts of the course that are of specific interest to me as opposed to general engineering principles is exciting to me as I will be able to start identifying possible areas of study that could develop into an attractive career. It will therefore be useful if I decide to apply for a summer internship next year as I will be able to make a stronger application if I can detail just why I would be suited to the opportunity.

In the same vein, I hope to get a job over the summer so I can pick up ‘soft’ skills such as interpersonal skills, team-work, organisation and time management in order to begin to make myself more marketable to a potential internship recruiter and also in preparation for the future. In the aerospace engineering field, as with all STEM disciplines, it pays, both figuratively and literally, to be a well-rounded individual with drive and a diverse skill set; so, I plan to begin to work on this now.

On a smaller scale, I am thinking of picking up something like yoga in order to practice mindfulness, a quality which is so vital in today’s fast-paced world. I believe this will help centre myself after a long day and also during busy periods like I experienced in the middle and end of last semester. Positive changes from within have been proven to increase outward and visible success and if this upcoming semester is for developing and improving aspects of my life, it seems like a good idea to try it out.

My first year at university is already going by so quickly, it is both thrilling and daunting, but I am confident that through making thoughtful choices and ‘keeping all the plates spinning’ I should be fine – and you too, reader. 🙂