UK Summer School , 2010
Katie Devenish
Research Associate
Katie’s Sutton Trust Summer School in 2010 inspired her to apply for Geography at the University of Cambridge. She is now a...Safira took part in the Sutton Trust Earth Sciences Summer School in 2023 at Durham University. She is now a first year Geophysics student at Durham. Read more to hear about Safira’s summer school experiences.
Tell us a bit about your background.
I’m a student from Birmingham, I’m Bengali and the first generation to go to university in the family.
I’m currently a first year Geophysics student at Durham University, a tutor for students of all ages and abilities, as well as a mentor for GCSE to A Level students, aiding their choices, extracurriculars, etc.
How did you hear about the Sutton Trust and what led you to apply?
I honestly spent a lot of time looking for any kind of summer school. I really agreed with the Sutton Trust’s values and I fit the criteria so thought why not!
Durham also allowed me to complete a summer school dedicated to Earth Sciences, which the other summer schools did not, and I adored it.
What do you remember about your time on your Sutton Trust programme?
I can remember becoming strangely more confident and just introducing myself to everyone I possibly could. During meal times, society night, karaoke, sports night, everything and everyone I met was so interesting.
Even though there were only four of us doing Earth Sciences we all clicked really well and really fast. I am currently the only one doing Earth Sciences at Durham but we still message every now and then and it’s honestly lovely- I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing week!
Did you know what you wanted to do for a career before university? Did your Sutton Trust programme (or anyone you met through it), help shape that decision?
I honestly didn’t know what kind of degree I wanted to do but being at the summer school meant that I could talk to students and lecturers to help me decide what I wanted to do and find even more reasons to love Earth Sciences.
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