Globe-trotting, volunteering, work experience and funding opportunities are just some of the things that keep one De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) student coming back for more.
Jennifer Masters, a Creative Writing MA student, has recently returned from a #DMUglobal trip to Tokyo during which she spent eight weeks studying at Meisei University, immersing herself in and learning about Japanese culture and language.
Jennifer found teaching school children in Tokyo rewarding
Staying in a guest house provided by the university allowed her and the two other DMU students to benefit from getting to know students from as far and as wide as Belgium, Hungary and Thailand.
The trip culminated in a week of teaching English to seven and eight-year-old children, which Jennifer found to be a very rewarding experience.
The 22-year-old said: “It was amazing! The whole experience was incredible and by the end of our time there none of us wanted to leave.
“My highlight was definitely the teaching and it was heart-warming that the kids were enthusiastic enough to come in during their summer holidays.”
Other memorable moments included celebrating her 22nd birthday with a visit to a Kawaii Monster Café, as well as enjoying the ‘incredible milky-way night display’ at the Tokyo Tower and the ‘breath-taking shrines and incredible views’ while climbing Mount Takao.
With her birthday cake and friends at the Kawaii Monster Café
Jennifer said: “I can’t thank the #DMUglobal team enough for making the trip possible for me.
“Being in my fourth year as a student I was really worried about money, but I was awarded the standard bursary as well as the additional funding I applied for.”
The trip also had a positive impact on Jennifer’s studies, especially her dissertation which was a comparative exploration of Japanese and North European fairy tales.
“The experience was invaluable in instilling some deeper cultural understanding of the country, which hopefully made my creative writing and final work more authentic,” said Jennifer.
The English and Creative Writing graduate is also thankful she could continue her studies at DMU in the first place after being awarded a Vice-Chancellor's 2020 scholarship, which offers an MA tuition fee discount of up to 50 per cent.
“I already knew I wanted to do my MA at DMU, but without the scholarship I would have had to wait a year to start it so I could work and try to save up enough money,” she said.
Taking selfies with another student on the trip
During her time at DMU Jennifer has taken full advantage of the many opportunities on offer, such as volunteering at the Lancaster Boys’ School through DMU Square Mile.
The chance to support schoolchildren in their magazine club gave Jennifer valuable insight during a time when she was ‘looking into the possibility of becoming a secondary school teacher’.
Through DMU’s Graduate Champions scheme, Jennifer landed a six-week internship with the consultancy company Pick Everard saying: “Being in the bid-writing team was my first proper experience of using my degree in a work environment and I really enjoyed it.
“They even told me to look them up when I graduate, so it’s great to know I made a good first impression.”
Currently working within the library at the University of Northampton, Jennifer is keen to explore lecturing as a career path and hopes to start a PhD in Literature at DMU next year.
She said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time with DMU, and my experience there has re-affirmed my desire to continue my studies and remain within an academic working environment.”
Posted on Tuesday 11 October 2016