“Many congratulations on joining the university!” may sound odd to you at this time

of the year. This is because we all had different expectations, dreams and maybe

paths of success already paved but have now been hindered by the pandemic. I

want to assure you that this is not the end, and there is always light at the end of

the tunnel. As a graduate who had worked remotely on their dissertation and final

exams, which carried the highest credits and weights of my whole degree, while the

stressful circumstances were shouting from every corner, I knew I had to be

equipped with patience and confidence to avoid falling in traps. It was an

opportunity to learn about my learning habits and to discover and distinguish

between the hard and smart studying strategies. During your time at the university,

you will learn that we all have our unique ways of learning and digesting

information, and with blended learning that specific understanding will get amplified

from an early stage of your degree. This builds a sense of independence and an

appreciation of others. Yes, uncertainty will accompany you most of the time but

this is why your lecturers and mentors are there. I recall one of my lecturer’s

sayings, ‘No question is a stupid question,’ therefore, always take the opportunity to

clear all your doubts via email or scheduled online meetings no matter what.

Remember, your lecturers will provide advice without any judgement, and fear of

asking your questions will only result in incomplete understanding and

incompetence. Make sure to take advantage of all the learning resources, including

E-books, and if there is something not available, ask for it and the library service will

provide it. Blended learning means that you need to be efficient, have time-

management skills and be organised while also remaining attentive to your own

mental health. It means we have to be resilient and adaptive to the surrounding

situations. It means we have to understand our own benefits early on into our

journey and plant that seed of responsibility within us as we will be the ones

running after our own successes. After all, no one will know your benefits and your

own unique ways of achieving them more than you do!

In my opinion, nothing is difficult if we focus our minds and full potential on

obtaining the best out of any situation. Thanks to God and then my family for their

full support I was able to achieve a first-class degree regardless of the pandemic

and any difficulties faced throughout the way. I trained my brain to extract the

positives and remained focused on my goals. If I did it then you certainly can! I will

say it again, a well-deserved congratulations on all your successes, and I am sure if

you stay focused and motivated you will all have bright futures ahead of you no

matter what will meet you in your way. Looking on the bright side, maybe all of this

was to train you to become the young professionals you were all meant to be one

day? I wish you all the best and, remember, you can and most certainly will!