Health, Sport and Bioscience Graduate Profiles
Michael - From Biomedical Sciences at UEL to Medicine at Barts
This may sound strange, but my time at the University of East London has been one of redemption. My story begins when I was a teenager; I decided then I wanted to be a doctor, but when it came to studying I didn’t take it seriously and naturally as a result, my grades didn’t prove strong enough for medical school.
Deflated, I took a year out to do National Service, and in this time I realized if I really wanted to be a doctor, I had to work for it and earn it. But I had to find somewhere first to give me a second chance and that would believe in my resolve. The University of East London came with a reputation of being open to unconventional students that sometimes have taken the long way round; I pitched my application and in 2006 I was accepted to read Biomedical Sciences.
True to the promise I made to myself and lecturers, I worked hard from day one. When my first term papers came back I was overjoyed to see my rewards from my labour and this gave me the energy to continue putting my best foot forward. The lecturers at the school were also very tenacious, inspiring me to better myself constantly - I never lacked encouragement. After three tough and testing years, I’m over the moon: I feel like I’ve earned every bit of my First Class Honours Degree and to top it off, I’ve been accepted to read Medicine at Barts, the oldest medical school in London. My personal tutor said to me when I got my results, ‘You’ve done your penance’ My time at the School gave me a second chance to be a doctor, it gave the both the space and support to become independent, self motivated and prove to myself I could achieve anything I wanted to. And because of that, it taught me the value of aspiration, self belief and hard work.
