I have finally finished all of my university assessments and will be graduating with a Master’s in Physics this Winter 2024! (Higher) education has been a comfort zone for many years, but working at the university’s office and starting my own projects has revealed my own ‘professional identity’. The person I can be outside the lecture theatre. I still question: who am I and how can I serve the world?
Over the years, I have met so many people who have greatly impacted my academic, professional, and personal life; I wouldn’t be here without them. You know who you are – thank you so much for being a part of my journey 🩷
I am ready to move onto the next chapter of my life (and the ever increasing responsibilities that comes with it 😳): the real world!
University Life Gratitude List
I was home for my birthday and found my dusty pile of old journals. They’ve been written since the first day of university. I read through every single page. I didn’t realise how much I’ve grown as a person. I’m no longer the person I was 4 years ago. I felt admiration and compassion to the girl in those pages. The world can be cold and chaotic, but full of awe and wonder. Like every young person, they’re just trying to figure out who they really are.
University has been an amazing experience. I got to study my passion; physics. It has been a challenging and rewarding journey. There are many achievements that I am extremely proud of that ranges from growth, fun experiences, genuine love and friendships, fun material things, and life just being awesome.
Achievements and Highlights
First Year (COVID year) 2020/21
- Survived COVID
- Moved into my first flat (the sweet taste of independence)
- Made first amazing uni friends and we were stuck together during COVID
- Paid my first bills and rent (yes, a big girl move)
- Played my first DnD game
- Informed the department about student fatigue and suggesting potential solutions (COVID wrecked our mental health). At first it was extremely frightening to speak up against authority especially as a first year, but I have grown more confident over the years because of it.
- My team won the Waveform Generator and LabVIEW Competition (wahoooo!)
- Wrote a letter to my secondary school computer science teacher as a thank you for his mentorship
- Created my first comprehensive financial spreadsheet (good ‘ol adulting)
- Became an Associate Member of the Institute of Physics
- Started investing – do invest but do your research first!
- Visited Stratford-upon-Avon, boating there is fun!
Second Year 2021/22
- Moved into my first shared student house (it was a terrible house and the stove caused power cuts, but we had fun!)
- Got my first job as a Student Ambassador – I met lots of amazing people and students ☺️
- Visited Scarborough and Whitby with family for the first time. Scarborough has a legendary shop called “myseabay.com” 🌊
- Visited Northern Ireland with the third years! The ferry was very interesting
- Visited Diddly Squat Farm, bought some bee juice!
- Visited Bicester Village, bought a Montblanc fountain pen ink called Psychedelic Purple
- Watched Dune – loved it
- Made more amazing friends
- Saved up and bought the Switch OLED
- Partied at the STEM Boat Ball!
- Survived first in-person exam season
- Got summer jobs as a Clearing Admissions Admin and a Sales Adviser at River Island (it took around 50 rejections) – I hustled everyday throughout that summer and it felt good!
- A colleague complimented my work ethic, which they say will help me get far – thank you Andrea 🥹
- Invested in therapy during the summer to prepare myself for the long-term future
- Bought my first iPad to enhance my study and creative endeavours (I don’t open my laptop as much anymore, I’m even writing this entry with it)
- Finally bought my first monitor
- Saved up and bought the Steam Deck
- Attended Women in Tech Event, lovely to see everyone again after COVID
- Built my first mechanical keyboard!!
Third Year 2022/23
- Survived more exams
- Got a winter job as a Compliance Administrator with the Apprenticeships team!
- Got the Rise Ambassador job!
- Made even more amazing friends
- Went on the Winter Wonderland Ferris Wheel
- Successfully survived ice skating without losing limbs
- Had a fun Winter Dinner Date at Dino with friends
- Bought my first high-end bags and shoes
- Visited Bath with family. The Roman Baths were awesome!
- Visited Blenheim Palace, very beautiful gardens and I 1000% did not put on the right footwear 🌷
- Visited Harrods – saw some of my favourite bags and the food there is so good
- Went on a Café Crawl across West Bridgford, it was indeed a very caffeinated day and the cakes were really good
- Got converted into Warhammer, built my first units – I play Sisters of Battle! They may be in a desperate need of paint…
- Not to brag but my local store is Warhammer World
- Achieved an Exceptional First in my solo lab. “Fantastic! The table in section 1b.3 is the most thoughtful table about an experiment I have seen. It’s most certainly above the undergraduate level. Well done!” 🥹
- A very proud moment for me as I did struggle with labs. It looks like creating a checklist for task management, and organising data in a comprehensive table really paid off.
- Visited Edinburgh with my friends and physics cohort (I love Edinburgh so much)
- Finally got my summer placement as a PURS Researcher! I studied the ‘Blanching of Varnish’ in historic paintings, which I have published my experience on my blog! Cultural heritage and history are some of my obsessions.
- Owned and created my online platform, airrasamson.com
- Got trained to independently operate the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope)
- Saved up money for my first car
- Attended Goosefair for the first time in years!
- Spent time with our Bournemouth cousins! May have scared them with movie Rec (we loved it though)
- Enrolled in the Stemettes x Standard Chartered Outbox Entrepreneur Programme
- Learned about business basics, IP law and legal frameworks, accounting, pitching, and funding opportunities
- Pitched my first business idea – I was nervous but I’m so glad I did it
- Met so many talented women and visionary female entrepreneurs!
- Met the one and only Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon
- First time doing solo trips to London. I’m now used to the train and tube. Loved exploring a major city, I do miss the chaos.
- Visited: Design Museum (Skateboard Exhibition), Wellcome Collection (The Cult of Beauty Exhibition), DNA VR (loved the VR games), and Loop London
- Got a good taste of enterprise life!
- Joined the Stemettes Society
- Ate at Auntie Liz’s kopitiam Mei Mei – the nasi lemak is 10/10
Final Year 2023/24
- Soon graduating with a 2:1 Physics Master of Science with Honours 🥹
- Started driving, will be doing my test very soon!
- 05/08/2024 Update: PASSED first time!!
- 06/09/2024 Update: Got my own car keys (fobs)! 🚙💨 Absolutely fun to drive in!!
- Attended my first University Executive Team Event as a Rise Ambassador
- Moved into my first big girl flat. It even has a walk-in closet 💅
- Got a winter job with the CADQ Team as a Data Entry Administrator. My colleagues were so lovely to gift me a card and chocolate as a thank you 💝
- Made even moooore incredible friends!
- Had a fun Christmas Dinner at my flat, food was amazing
- Watched Dune: Part Two – one of my favourite movies
- Attended NTU Enterprise Events
- Graduated from the Stemettes x Standard Chartered Outbox Entrepreneur Programme 🎓
- Met the Institute of Physics Vice President where I and another associate member gave her a tour!
- Crocheted my strawberry embellished cardigan – addicted to crochet ever since (confirmed by a psychology student) I may have accumulated a yarn stash…
- Crocheted scarves for loved ones – I made my sister a paopu fruit scarf!
- Founded my own business; a slow fashion brand specialising in crochet techniques.
- Found my community of small business owners, artists, artisans, designers, and crafters. Follow me on Instagram and Threads 💌
- Made my first few sales on Etsy! 💸
- It’s incredibly awesome to have someone support and appreciate your hard work. My most notable client is a London-based bridal fashion designer!
- Attended my first Kilnhouse Pots and Pints event – I made a strawberry cow face dish 🍓 and a nurgle face planter 🦠
- Ate Wawoo Mochi Donuts – Pandan and Ube are my favourites 🍡
- Reconnected with my beloved friends after an intensely busy year – thank you everyone, I truly appreciate and love you all!!
- Revitalised my social life and spending more time with family 💕
- Supported the Employability Team for graduation. I had extremely insightful conversations with the career coaches and advisors – all included in part 2!
- Growth milestone: Complimented by my (more experienced) colleagues that I am well-spoken and very good at small talk! Being surrounded by extroverts and working in extroverted roles has helped tremendously. I genuinely enjoy connecting with people. I am very proud to hear the progress I didn’t know I was making. Although it’s still a work in progress and public speaking is the next skill to master.
- Celebrated summer graduation with my friends – well done everyone we’re all so proud of you! The after-party was a fun night too!
- Got a Coco Tang fob 😎 (I am addicted to that place, it reminds me of home)
- Beautifully recovering from burn out ❤️🔥
So where to now?
To summarise (short to medium term plans):
- Understand myself better: who am I and how can I serve the world?
- Graduate 🎓
- Secure my first role
- Find my second big girl home
- Get my first car and driver’s license (thank you Curtis for getting me this far!)
- Go on road trips with my friends; the Dales and Sherwood Forest are in the plans. I’ll be driving around the UK to visit my besties. Lincoln and Ripley are the first stops. Would anyone like to visit Edinburgh with me?
- Experience the world with my friends. Italy and Japan are on the list 🇮🇹🇯🇵 Maybe ‘race’ around Germany? 🏁
- Visit Arizona – a girl friend has started her PhD (Chemistry) and I’m so proud of her!
- Support my sister for her new transition in life; she’s going to uni!
- 15/08/2024 Update: She’s going to her FIRST CHOICE Warwick!!
- Get back into DnD – my dice are going to rust if I don’t use ‘em. I also have some minis that need building and painting…
- Get back into strength training – a busy year has naturally impeded my physical health, but it’s an opportunity to commit to it once again. I’ll need a healthy body for all the adventuring anyway!
- Get well rested! My support network (AKA the board of directors) and my mother have been begging I take some rest 😹
- Enjoy the summer with my lovely family and friends ☀️
All of this requires a detailed spreadsheet.
This is such an exciting and scary chapter of my life! An opportunity to navigate it with courage.
Thank you so much for being a part of my journey.
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
The Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
Until next time on part 2,
