{"id":10162,"date":"2019-04-02T09:24:50","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T08:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/?p=10162"},"modified":"2020-10-26T16:23:27","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T15:23:27","slug":"university-life-on-wheels-my-5-top-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2019\/04\/02\/university-life-on-wheels-my-5-top-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"University life on wheels \u2013 my 5 Top Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hi, Tom here \u2013 I\u2019m a final year student at BU studying for a degree in Computing. I\u2019ve had an amazing three years learning new things, meeting new people and most importantly having tons of fun along the way, but my story is a little different to most. You see, I have a condition called Cerebral Palsy which means I rely on an electric wheelchair to get around as well as support from a truly awesome team of personal assistants.<\/p>\n<p>However, this has not stopped me from loving every minute of the University experience. So, I thought it would be useful for me to share my 5 top tips for university life on wheels!<a href=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/files\/2019\/03\/Tom-Sully-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10168 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/files\/2019\/03\/Tom-Sully-2-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2019\/03\/Tom-Sully-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/files\/2019\/03\/Tom-Sully-2.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Get to know your lecturers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The lecturers are super-committed to making sure that everybody gets the most out of their degree, while also having a great time at uni.\u00a0 Building up a good rapport with a few lecturers can be particularly useful.\u00a0 Whether you are going through a rough patch or you just want a little bit of advice, this contact can prove invaluable.\u00a0 I was even lucky enough to work with one of my lecturers on a project about disability and technology. I then presented this work at an industry conference in Cardiff.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Make use of Additional Learning Support (ALS)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I met these dedicated members of staff on one of my first visits to BU, they are here to help you with everything from exam support and extra time to study planning.\u00a0 Even if you just want a chat, they are always happy to see you.\u00a0 The support they have provided has been crucial to my studies. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/why-bu\/student-wellbeing\/additional-learning-support\">ALS are situated in the library<\/a> so always on hand.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Start socialising before you even arrive<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Social networking can be a fantastic way in which to begin making friendships that can kickstart your time at BU.\u00a0 There are plenty of conversations and groups available for those who are also about to start their journey eg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JoinBournemouthUni\/\">Facebook<\/a>. Whether it be people planning to live in the same halls as you or do the same degree, why wait, get chatting!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Make the most of Freshers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Freshers is one of the best times to make those friends that will last a lifetime.\u00a0 Regardless of ability, everyone is in the same boat and very keen to make friends.\u00a0 I was personally scared that people would judge me because of my disability, but I was wrong!\u00a0\u00a0 Put aside your fears and do as much as you can \u2013 it\u2019s not necessarily all about alcohol and parties.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Have a ball with ResLifeBU<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even after Freshers, the fun doesn\u2019t have to stop.\u00a0 The great team at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/why-bu\/accommodation\/reslifebu\">ResLifeBU<\/a> run weekly events at your halls from film nights to Chinese themed evenings. These events are a great way to meet up with the friends you have made on your journey, or even make some new ones!<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Bournemouth Uni is a fantastic place to study regardless of physical ability. The campus is a great environment for navigating on wheels, fellow students and staff are also incredible. If you are considering coming to uni but worry how a physical impairment may affect your studies or social life, I couldn\u2019t encourage you enough to give it serious thought. You have nothing to lose and it could quite literally change your life forever!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi, Tom here \u2013 I\u2019m a final year student at BU studying for a degree in Computing. I\u2019ve had an amazing three years learning new things, meeting new people and most importantly having tons of fun along the way, but my story is a little different to most. You see, I have a condition called&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2019\/04\/02\/university-life-on-wheels-my-5-top-tips\/\">Read more &raquo;<span class=\"sr-only\"> about University life on wheels \u2013 my 5 Top Tips<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":10168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,12,1638],"tags":[573,1195,586,1247,1169,1176,592,239],"class_list":["post-10162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-student-blogs","category-undergraduate","tag-als","tag-bsc-hons-computing","tag-bu-students","tag-cerebal-palsy","tag-friendships","tag-reslifebu","tag-student-life","tag-student-support"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10162"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10169,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10162\/revisions\/10169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}