Taking advantage of opportunities at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has helped Vivian Nwagboso land a role as a biomedical scientist.
The graduate, who was presented with a First in Biomedical Science last week, has developed a wealth of transferable skills by representing her course, school and international students.
She also credits the degree's professional accreditation with helping her land a placement, which in turn contributed to her securing a full-time job.
Vivian said: "I am very grateful to DMU and De Montfort Students' Union (DSU) for these opportunities, where I developed so many transferrable skills.
"I strongly believe that these opportunities played a huge role in me landing a placement with the Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI).
"The placement is a huge part of my degree, which qualifies me as a scientist. The root of it all is that DMU's course is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science, which means it was also easier getting the placement role that landed me this job."
Vivian is equally grateful for the support from lecturers, who encouraged her to focus on gaining a First, and wants to thank 'every single one of you', especially personal tutor Dr Antonio Peña-Fernández.
Born in Nigeria, Vivian moved to Leicester to further her education and will be moving again for her job with the haematology and blood transfusion service at Hull Royal Infirmary next month.
"I'm excited because it was unbelievable that I got a job even before writing my final exams but nervous because it's a new town, new people, with no family or friends," she said. "But I'm hopeful I will be fine."
Duties will involve pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical procedures of blood samples and giving possible diagnoses.
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She said: "When I started at DMU, I was sure I wanted to get this degree, I was also sure I wanted to work in a hospital. But being an international student, I didn't know what skills I needed to break into that career world.
"I thought the best thing I could do was to pursue my passion and I did so vigorously."
When Vivian received an email from the DSU seeking candidates for an international students' representative, she was quick to respond.
"I have never been part of politics but I was passionate about representing us, knowing fully what we wanted," she said. "I went through the election process and was successful."
More opportunities, including course and faculty representative roles, came Vivian's way - and the answer was always yes.
She also chose to enhance her CV by undertaking an industry placement, spending a year with the LRI's blood bank department as a trainee/placement student.
"The HLS careers team is a fantastic bunch and treated me like I was the only student in DMU," she said.
Vivian's placement is among her university highlights, which also include receiving the Vice-Chancellor's most distinguished student award, being nominated for the DSU personality of the year award and a trip to Berlin through the #DMUglobal international experience programme.
"DMU is a part of me that cannot be erased. I am a proud and content alumna," she added.
Posted on Wednesday 24 July 2019