Sion Lewis
Course: BA Drama and HIstory (through the medium of Welsh)
Graduated: 2007/08 Academic Year
Destination approx. 6 months after graduation: Studying MSCEC Management and Marketing, Aberystwyth University
Background
At A Level I studied Drama, History and Welsh, all of which I continued with at Aber as I chose to do a Drama and History degree through the medium of Welsh. The decision to come to university pretty much made itself. I always knew I would go. There is a history in my family of going and I think these days so many people have a degree, so to be competitive, you need one.At school, drama and history were my favourite subjects and also the two I was best at so I wanted to carry on doing them. I chose to do it in Welsh as, at home, I tend to speak English to most of my friends and I felt that I was losing my Welsh roots a little.
I wanted to stay in Wales, but not at home in Cardiff, so I chose Aber. My granddad on my mum’s side studied here and so did my dad, and although they didn’t pressure me, it was an influencing factor in my choice of university.
Where are you now?
I am now continuing with my studies and doing an MSCEC in Management and Marketing at Aberystwyth University. This is a conversion course as people from different subjects with no actual background in management and marketing can do it. The course aims to focus such individuals on this particular field post- graduation.Basically, I’m learning the language of business, gaining a detailed knowledge on the lingo and know-how of management and marketing. I enjoy the marketing side the most, in particular a module on consumer behaviour really interests me; this module helps you get inside the consumer’s head to see what they want and learn how to give it to them.
How did you get there?
Both myself and a friend at Aber were interested in doing the course, so we sent the head of department an email expressing our interest. She met us for an informal chat to give us some detailed insight into the course and what it was all about, and we were informed that we would need a 2:1 result from our undergrad course to get onto the postgraduate course. As it happens I got a 59.4 outcome for my degree (just below the required 2:1) but as this was so close they used their discretion and accepted me anyway based on my obvious enthusiasm to complete the course.The drama side of my degree definitely improved my confidence. Things such as performing and directing help you in situations that require you talking with confidence in front of new and different people. The history side was very beneficial academically. I’ve picked up excellent researching skills and feel I have my essay writing down to a tea. Living away from home at University was an experience I loved; I thoroughly enjoyed being part of a very welcoming Welsh community.
I did some refereeing for children’s football matches during my studies which I enjoyed a great deal. It was definitely something that taught me patience! Also, I played a number of roles in my friends’ films, which they made as part of their film and TV studies, which was great fun and gave me more performance experience. It shows that I’m willing to work and be committed and help for things other than for money.