Ever wonder what the life of university students in the UK is like? What activities do they do, what is their weekend life like, what sort of careers do they want to pursue? All of these questions can now be answered, for Her Campus has given us the opportunity to connect with a UK university! Through a Her Campus program, several US campuses are paired up with UK campuses that have Her Campus (yes Her Campus is so awesome it has crossed over the Atlantic). For Her Campus BC, we have been fortunate enough to be selected as a “sister chapter” to the University of Nottingham! In addition to the Campus Correspondents at Her Campus Nottingham, we have a whole team of new friends. Through Skype sessions, we have gotten the chance to learn more about their chapter and we would love to share our experience with all of our readers!
First, let’s get to know the Her Campus Nottingham Campus Correspondents. Sam is a second year student from Surrey, a county just outside of London who is studying English, and Sheetal is a third year student from London studying History. They both joined Her Campus last year as bloggers and fell in love with the ability within Her Campus to write about so many fun and relevant topics. When the opportunity to become Campus Correspondents opened up, they immediately applied and are having an amazing experience in their positions. Here is some more information about the Nottingham Her Campus chapter:
What are some of the awesome events, articles, experiences you and your Her Campus team had?
We’re really keen to raise lots of money for charity; earlier in the semester we had a bake sale for the cancer support charity Macmillian where we raised £70 (about $113.00). We’ve got a team social coming up in a great cocktail bar in the city which should be a lot of fun, and will help our members get to know each other a bit better.
How many girls make up your team? What kind of fun things do you like to do together to create a bond with your team members?
We have 42 members of staff (including one boy!), which for us is quite a lot – we didn’t realize how big the team was until we met everyone at our first meeting! Our first team social is coming up soon, but we have a little staff social media contest going on at the moment to introduce a bit of healthy competition amongst them!
What do girls at your university think of Her Campus? Do they love reading it? Is it known on campus?
Her Campus Nottingham is still quite new and not many people in the UK have heard of HC, but we’re doing lots to raise our profile on campus. We had loads of applications to join our team this year, and many more girls are starting to read Her Campus. We’re not allowed to advertise on campus, so we’re finding other ways of getting people to hear about us, like giving out HC cards outside the campus gates!
If you could write any article, what would it be on? Or what has been your favorite article to write?
Writing about our first event was really great, as we were all so proud of what we had achieved and telling the world about it was really amazing!
Sheetal: An article on Justin Timberlake would be a dream, but I think I’d just fill it with pictures to be honest.
What fun plans do you have for Her Campus at your university this year?
We’re hoping to do lots of giveaways via Facebook; we’ll make up some goodie bags and have people share the photo to be in with a chance of winning everything in it! We also want to do more charity events – maybe another bake sale as we’ve got some great cooks on our team!
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Now for some fun and interesting questions about what it is like being a student at a UK university (and also some of their thoughts on American life and students)!
Other than Her Campus, what else do you love to do?
Nottingham is a really lovely little city; there are so many cool places to explore. We have the castle and so many nice parks and places to visit. Also, being involved in other societies on campus is really fun, and a great way to meet people.
What TV show are you addicted to?
I tend to prefer American TV to British – Dexter, New Girl, and of course Friends are three shows we love! We also have some great documentary programs. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is great – it’s all about the Travelling Community in England and Ireland, how they live in the 21st century, and how they afford such extravagant weddings!
What is a typical weekend like on your campus? (Do you guys have parties on campus, go to clubs, love going out for drinks, etc.)?
Funnily enough, no one goes out that much on the weekends – student nights in clubs and bars are usually during the week. Usually dinner or a movie, or a night-in with the girls! We don’t tend to have parties on campus because the only suitable venue is an old nightclub called The Den, which has a reputation for being awful! The best nightlife is in the city.
What fall fashions are you in love with and love to wear?
Pink is everywhere at the moment and we’ve totally fallen in love with it (despite not wearing much pink before!).
What is your favorite quote (and who said it)?
Sheetal: ‘True bravery is being exactly who you are, imperfections included’ – Sara Bareilles
Sam: ‘It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything’ – Chuck Palahnuik, one of my favorite authors.
What are your dream jobs?
Sam: I would love to work at a newspaper or magazine and have my own column, maybe writing about current affairs. A job that involves travelling would be amazing as it’d be great to see more of the world.
Sheetal: I’d also love to travel! I’m hoping to get into the public or charity sector, maybe working for government? And hopefully still writing in my spare time!
If you could describe the US, in your opinion, in 5 words what would they be?
Big!, confident, passionate, patriotic, enthusiastic.
What do you think of American students that study abroad in the UK?
It’s so interesting speaking to anyone from another country, and it’s surprising some of the differences between America and Britain considering we’re so similar in other ways. Americans can be a lot more bubbly and approachable than Brits sometimes, which is refreshing!
What is your dating culture like?
In Britain it’s quite normal to be ‘seeing someone’ for a long time before you become officially boyfriend and girlfriend – it causes a lot of angst for girls everywhere! The traditional dinner/movie date isn’t such a big thing, probably because it’s quite expensive. Spending time at each other’s houses/halls is a common way of getting to know someone because it doesn’t cost anything!
What do you think of Kate Middleton and One Directon?
We love Kate Middleton – in many ways she’s a typical British woman (although obviously with a very different lifestyle, and a lot richer than most of us!). She’s very like Princess Diana was in that she bridges the gap between the Royal Family and the people. Sam was in London for the Royal Wedding and was lucky enough to get a spot pressed right up against the gates of Buckingham Palace for the kiss on the balcony – an unforgettable moment! One Direction split opinion a bit more. It tends to be younger girls who like them the most, but some of the cheesier nightclubs play their songs – they’re a guilty pleasure!
What do you think these phrases mean? “Frips”, “BC Lookaway”, “Plexing It”, “Lax Bros”, “Wicked Awesome”, “TransLoc”
Sheetal: I’ll be honest, I have absolutely no idea. “Wicked awesome” sounds like it means ‘really good’ though right?
Sam: I’ll have a go! Frips sounds edible – something to do with chips?! BC Lookaway: avoiding something? Plexing It: trying to figure something out, maybe? Lax Bros: “Relax everyone?” TransLoc: Translocational? Although I have no idea why you would want to say that.
Stay tuned to find out more about our US/UK Her Campus Chapters experience!
Photo Sources: Provided by Sam and Sheetal!