Category: 2017/18 Dmitriy K. (Ukraine)

 

Hi,

I hope you can see me in this picture! There is a week at King’s Hospital when students try to understand people despite their sexual orientation.

For me, it was surprising to see Catholic society accepting anti-religious ideas. Nevertheless, I think it is fantastic to have support, such as: “being the best version of yourself” speeches, teachers that are ready to listen, in-class talks and friendly atmosphere.

I have built my own ideas based on what I have seen, but what do you think about it?

Below are pictures of the place where I worked for one week. It’s called work experience.

Things are simple: student finds himself a workplace for one or two weeks and works there. The purpose of work experience is to help to understand which fields of work do you like and which don’t.

Work experience is considered one of the best activities in the 4th Year. My first employment was in a hobby shop. In my work placement, I worked with stocks that are coming and going, sorted boxes, talked with customers that know 100 aspects about models they buy.

It would have been a lot more boring without my “colleague” from another school. It was always better to sort out the boxes together.

For the second placement I shadowed a paediatrician in the hospital. Most of the doctors have extreme schedules, but for my days in the hospital, the plan was less intense and more enjoyable!

Those work placements gave me a good idea of activities that happen in the workplaces. I knew what I wanted to do and know I know how to approach my goal of becoming a doctor.

Tips for your work experience:

  1. Find it yourself!
  2. Start to look for your work placement early.
  3. Aim for the area you are interested in doing. If you didn’t get it, then you will identify the areas that you are not going to do in the future.
  4. Look up work experience courses that universities offer – there will be a lot of them.
  5. Always be punctual and be polite to your colleagues.

Let’s imagine that you’ve got an interview in Harvard, and you are talking with admissions officers. They asked you about books you have read in last 12 months, what would you say?

Currently, I’m finishing “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe – definite must-read from the gigantic world of classics.

If it’s not easy to read books in English, try reading adapted books first – that’s what I did!

Read books that you enjoy: about science, World War 2, space, ornithology, classics. I will strongly recommend not to waste time on books you dislike!

Here is a picture of the reading wall in King’s Hospital. Do you see any books that you recognise?

 

Clongowes, which is another school in Dublin, and King’s Hospital have a long-lasting tradition (already 13 years!).

On Sunday of Christian Unity week, some students from KH visit morning service in Clongowes and some students from Clongowes visit evening service in KH.

That is a picture of the mature, ivy-ridden building at Clongowes. Although Sunday was a cloudy day, it was great to make new friends in other schools, and show that we, Christians, should maintain and enjoy our culture.

Always yours,

Dmitriy