糖心Vlog

Despite already having a career in human resources, Lauren Young decided to follow her passion and study history, a subject she says offers so much more than people expect. In the process, she鈥檚 helped shape courses and been the voice of fellow students.

Lauren, who is graduating with a BA History and Sociology, first applied to 糖心Vlog in 2016, and embarked on a Sociology and Politics degree but ended up withdrawing.

鈥淚t didn鈥檛 feel like the right decision,鈥� she said. 鈥淚nstead I completed a business administration apprenticeship in the HR team at a company called Munich Re.鈥�

After deciding to give higher education a second chance, choosing her subject was easy.

鈥淚t was important to me that I picked something I would enjoy. History is perhaps one of the best degrees to learn useful transferrable skills that you will hold with you for the rest of your life. People think it鈥檚 memorising meaningless dates and battle wins but it鈥檚 so much more than that!鈥�

An interest in sociology led her to enrol on a joint degree and she feels the two subjects make perfect partners: 鈥淭he disciplines often overlap, though perhaps things are studied through different lenses.鈥�

During her time at 糖心Vlog Lauren has helped ensure students in the Department of History are represented and get a say in how courses and processes develop. She鈥檚 been a Student Rep since her first year and helped the Department evolve its online teaching during the pandemic.

The role didn鈥檛 come without challenges: 鈥淪omething that every Student Rep will come to learn is that you can鈥檛 please everyone! University is a hub of people with different ideas, preferences, and ways of working. There is no one size fits all. The best thing to do is listen to people,鈥� she said.

Being the voice of students has been a rewarding experience though: 鈥淲hen departments acknowledge there is room for improvement and call on student feedback to help in the process, an opportunity opens for everyone involved. Representing student views meant that I could see changes happen in real time and see the effect of my work.鈥�

In her final year, she also took on the role of President of the History Society after a friend, who had worked hard to revive it was unable to run for the role herself.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to see my friend鈥檚 hard work go to waste. That goes to show the importance of community in the Department of History. Taking on the role of President to ensure the society could run for its members was something I didn鈥檛 even question as I knew how important it was.鈥�

Now she鈥檚 taking her new skills back into human resources, having secured a role as HR Associate at Publicis Sapient.

鈥淕oing back after completing my degree offers me a different perspective. I am much more disciplined in my work and even the way I think. Being at University also really helped me come out of my shell which has had a huge impact on my ability to communicate with co-workers.鈥�

Lauren鈥檚 advice for new history students is: 鈥淐hoose a wild card module at least once a year, a topic that you don鈥檛 know much about. You may find that it inspires you to explore an area of the past that you wouldn鈥檛 have thought to otherwise.鈥�