“I might not have gone to college at all if it wasn’t for my interest in business and the support of the DCU Access Programme. I was the first in my family to go to university, but now one of my younger sisters has started college too.
I’ve had business ideas since I was young, selling loom bands, snacks, and sweets in school, so I knew I’d be good at Business Studies. After I heard someone on the radio talking about DCU, I checked out the campus and I really liked it. One of the main reasons I chose DCU was for the opportunity to take part in an internship in third year. The idea of leaving university with real-world experience really appealed to me.
“I wouldn’t be able to afford college without supports like DCU Access Programme and the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) fund. Last year, I had accommodation on campus through the Access Programme, and they provided me with a laptop. I got to know people from my course through Access too, and I’ve made some good friends that way.”
I’m really into sports and sports leadership, and DCU has been a great campus for that. I’m the captain of my hurling team here in DCU and I’m on the committee for the DCU Cricket Club, as well as captaining my cricket team at home in Carlow. My family are from Pakistan and cricket is really popular there, but it’s getting bigger in Ireland now. There are opportunities to play cricket all over the world. Being captain gives me a lot of opportunities for motivational speaking, and I really enjoy writing and delivering speeches. That experience with public speaking is very helpful in Business Studies.
I have three younger siblings, so I want to be able to pay my own way. I worked a lot over the summer, and I have a weekend job in Carlow during term, but the Access Scholarship helps too. I’m very thankful for my scholarship, and I hope I can inspire someone from a similar background to me.
At the moment, I’m really enjoying the accounting and business analytics side of my course. The LIFE module is great too, it’s very practical and gives an insight into real companies. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I graduate, but I’m open to lots of different possibilities.”
