STORYTIME PART 2:Arkwright Scholarship
(A bit overdue but here you go fellas)
After a tour of the Dyson Building (which was beautiful by the way if you weren't able to gather from my previous post) we went through the formalities of the day, and then said bye to parents.We ate lunch and then were handed a sheet stating the order in which the interviews would be had. I was somewhere in the middle of my set, and seeing that made the entire experience very real.
We split up into group activities, which pertained making a bridge of maximum strength, elegant design and able to withhold the most strain (spoiler - my group won, of course).
I think this was my favourite part of the day. Whilst there was a obvious tension that permeated the room as individuals left to and returned from interviews, having something to build was strangely soothing. Each person was allocated their own component to build and I found great joy in the task of superglueing together pieces of cardboard and doing the measuring (this sounds very sarcastic but I can assure you that was not the case).
When the time came for me to finally go to my interview, I was nervous, but not cripplingly so, but rather nervous that I would slip up over my words, stutter, or jabber on uselessly. As I sat by my room, one of the interviewers walked past me, an I shook his hand, just for my project to fall (great timing obviouslyyyyy), which was awkward to say the least. Buttttt we move.
I finally went in for my interview, which was less awkward. Walking in, empowered by the prayerful text my Grandma had just sent, there was a sense of ease that befell me. The interviewers asked questions, ranging from what I have written on this blog, to my own personal interests, what I do inside and outside of school, and most importantly, my stress detector (there is loads of information about that on this website so please, peruse my friend). Obviously the interview was formal, but there was a relaxed vibe that accompanied it. The interviewers were not trying to grill you or catch you out. Rather they wanted to know more about you, and from your explanation infer your eloquence, your understanding and zeal.
Somehow this worked out because 6 months later I attended a awards ceremony hosted at IET in London, where I met my amazing sponsor Mr Robson from the ERA foundation. Now I have £300 to my disposal for use for any engineering related activities and an amazing mentor who studied at Imperial College London, who is supporting my journey at every step.
Now what was the point of this grand story tell? I essentially want to encourage you to go for it. Go for any opportunity that makes itself available to you. Since then I have now been able to be mentored by a coder who works with SLLY, am a mentee on Target Oxbridge and will be attending a summer residential at Oxford free of charge. This entire experience started out with a simple suggestion that I never gave much thought to and has blossomed into something so beautiful. Beyond the title of this message, I hope that everyone who reads this is encouraged to do, to partake and to create, even if you know that you're not good enough. You never know what a simple "yes" can do, and you never know what an easy "no" can close the door to.
After a tour of the Dyson Building (which was beautiful by the way if you weren't able to gather from my previous post) we went through the formalities of the day, and then said bye to parents.We ate lunch and then were handed a sheet stating the order in which the interviews would be had. I was somewhere in the middle of my set, and seeing that made the entire experience very real.
We split up into group activities, which pertained making a bridge of maximum strength, elegant design and able to withhold the most strain (spoiler - my group won, of course).
I think this was my favourite part of the day. Whilst there was a obvious tension that permeated the room as individuals left to and returned from interviews, having something to build was strangely soothing. Each person was allocated their own component to build and I found great joy in the task of superglueing together pieces of cardboard and doing the measuring (this sounds very sarcastic but I can assure you that was not the case).
When the time came for me to finally go to my interview, I was nervous, but not cripplingly so, but rather nervous that I would slip up over my words, stutter, or jabber on uselessly. As I sat by my room, one of the interviewers walked past me, an I shook his hand, just for my project to fall (great timing obviouslyyyyy), which was awkward to say the least. Buttttt we move.
I finally went in for my interview, which was less awkward. Walking in, empowered by the prayerful text my Grandma had just sent, there was a sense of ease that befell me. The interviewers asked questions, ranging from what I have written on this blog, to my own personal interests, what I do inside and outside of school, and most importantly, my stress detector (there is loads of information about that on this website so please, peruse my friend). Obviously the interview was formal, but there was a relaxed vibe that accompanied it. The interviewers were not trying to grill you or catch you out. Rather they wanted to know more about you, and from your explanation infer your eloquence, your understanding and zeal.
Somehow this worked out because 6 months later I attended a awards ceremony hosted at IET in London, where I met my amazing sponsor Mr Robson from the ERA foundation. Now I have £300 to my disposal for use for any engineering related activities and an amazing mentor who studied at Imperial College London, who is supporting my journey at every step.
Now what was the point of this grand story tell? I essentially want to encourage you to go for it. Go for any opportunity that makes itself available to you. Since then I have now been able to be mentored by a coder who works with SLLY, am a mentee on Target Oxbridge and will be attending a summer residential at Oxford free of charge. This entire experience started out with a simple suggestion that I never gave much thought to and has blossomed into something so beautiful. Beyond the title of this message, I hope that everyone who reads this is encouraged to do, to partake and to create, even if you know that you're not good enough. You never know what a simple "yes" can do, and you never know what an easy "no" can close the door to.
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