Gib Uni Student Perspective: Amelia Lewis-Berry
Although small, Gibraltar has a growing international student community – people who have chosen to come to the Rock to study. The University of Gibraltar’s international students provide a fascinating viewpoint on Gibraltar. This week we’re sharing the student profile of Amelia Lewis-Berry from Brighton.
Amelia is originally from Brighton and is studying the Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) programme. She chose to study in Gibraltar in order to combine a more relaxed, Mediterranean lifestyle with her studies. Amelia likes the fact her fellow classmates are from all across the world and that the university is small and listens to its students.
- Where are you from?
I was born in Brighton in the UK and I’ve lived at several places across Brighton, Shoreham, and Hove. I’ve enjoyed living there, all of my friends live there as well. We grew up together and I’m still friends with the people I went to school with. Prior to studying at the University of Gibraltar, I used to go to BHASVIC College where I focused on English literature, business, and textiles. Business seemed more like a good subject to broaden your options with so I researched potential universities and decided on Gibraltar.
- Why did you choose Gibraltar?
I didn’t apply for any degrees in the UK because I wasn’t really keen on having such a busy lifestyle. On one hand, I did want to stay and study but on the other hand, I wanted to have some time off as well. I would have travelled, but obviously, with COVID I couldn’t. So, I thought Gibraltar offered the best of both worlds.
- What’s your impression of the University so far?
The university is very new and that’s an advantage, in my opinion. The Uni is very open to feedback from students, that together with the small size of the Uni and the classes it makes it a pleasant place to study. The lecturers do care about you getting good grades. I wouldn’t get that much attention in the UK. I think this personal attention can help students do well and stay motivated.
- What’s a typical day like?
We have lectures from Monday to Thursday between 16:00 and 20:00. This works quite well for me, because during the day I usually have enough time to do my hobbies. For example, running around Gibraltar or shopping – I spend quite some time studying as well! Our class is very mixed, we have people from India, Russia, Sweden, Spain, UK, America and Morocco so it’s a real cross section and we get along so well!
I’m currently on a work placement so my days have changed. I work from 09:00 in the morning until around 20:00, so my days are very busy. After this semester I expect to have more time again, I might even be interested to join a local running club.
- Tell us about your industry placement:
My placement is currently at a local creative and marketing agency called The Bulb. We did marketing in our second semester, which I liked. I’m highly interested in fashion and if I ever want to do something in that field, it would be good to have some basic marketing skills to be able to set up something myself. The placement is great for that – I get along very well with my colleagues there too – it’s nice to meet people from different backgrounds. I’m currently helping with their social media. The creative side, which includes designing things like logos and content, appeals to me the most at this stage.
- What’s your plan after you graduate?
I’m not sure yet, I still have another two years to go on my degree so I hope to get enough inspiration here for my career. The BBA is broad so I expect to have a lot more options because business is a very good subject to choose from as it is the foundation of pretty much everything in our economy. Once you know the basic skills in business, you have a lot more opportunities to choose what you want to do. After finishing this bachelor’s, I want to travel, but maybe it will be good to work a little bit first to earn money. Another idea is doing a master’s here or in the UK.
- What’s your impression of Gibraltar?
The weather is a big bonus, and besides that the people here are so friendly. They are genuinely interested in you and it feels like a family community because it’s so small. There are still a lot of British traditions here, for example, cafes and restaurants offer a Sunday roast and Main Street has British shops etc., but the surroundings do make me feel I’m in the Mediterranean.
For more info about courses at the University of Gibraltar, visit: https://www.unigib.edu.gi/
Amelia with the team from the Bulb:
