Could you plan a wedding + study a master’s + move to a new country + deal with a pandemic? MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Student Ambassador, Cheryl Itemere, tells us how you can have it all and which LSE resources to use to make it all happen.
Maintaining a social life and studying a master’s is already a tricky sum, adding a pandemic to that equation makes it a bit more complex.
You can imagine the turmoil I was going through as a student and planning my wedding in Kenya smack in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. However…
I say this with confidence – you can do it all – just not on your own. .
Michaelmas Term was unique for me, I really needed to be economical and efficient with my time all while living my best London life (in a pandemic).
Academic mentors
During my first week at LSE, I got to meet my academic mentor aka my best friend (he just doesn’t know it yet!). The 15 minutes catch up we had shed light on the many questions I had about studying at LSE. Through periodic meetings, I was able to;
- share and track my goals for the term
- receive feedback on my academic plans
- of most importance – have someone to guide me through this master’s life
Professors and office hours
Having supportive professors is something I cannot take for granted.
As hectic as the year has been, we all realised navigating zoom lectures and seminars was a phenomenon new to many. I especially appreciated the level of patience and support accorded to me by my professors.
As mentioned, I was not only embarking on a master’s programme I was concurrently planning my wedding. My professors worked with me diligently to ensure that my academic plans were on course. I also made great use of the office hours available whenever I needed extra guidance on a specific course.
As hectic as the year has been, we all realised navigating zoom lectures and seminars was a phenomenon new to many.
LSE Life
My favourite resource was and still is LSE Life.
I quickly came to realise it’s the one stop shop for all matters academia and much more. What was supposed to be a two minute scroll on the LSE Life page ended in scheduling a one-on-one session with a study advisor and registering to various academic and personal workshops.
Some of my most exciting workshops of the term include:
- Plan your term: set goals and manage your time.
- Critical Thinking: Develop your voice as a Social Scientist.
- Write essays that LSE markers want to read.
- Construct effective arguments.
- Tools for consistent referencing.
In addition to workshops and one-on-one sessions, I came to learn LSE Life also has many short courses available like ‘how to explore academic texts’, ‘writing clearly and convincingly for academic audiences’, ‘preparing for online exams’ among multiple other important topics.
Through one of the short courses I took, ‘Speak Up! Make your voice heard in seminars and classes’ I was able to work towards my “zoom-phobia”. Here, I learned simple but practical tips on how to prepare and participate in seminars – a task that was quite daunting at the start of the term.
Students
LSE has tons of cool resources ranging far and wide. It also has really smart students who you can learn from in and out of the classroom.
One of my greatest learnings from a fellow master’s student was how to manage time effectively through the art of timeboxing. Timeboxing is a technique used to manage time and be more productive by planning ahead of the activity whilst allocating a certain amount of time per activity.
Tips like this amongst many others helped me live up to my 2020 mantra “she can have it all”. So yes, you definitely can have it all!
…And, if you’re wondering, the wedding was absolutely magical!
LSE has tons of cool resources ranging far and wide. It also has really smart students who you can learn from in and out of the classroom.
Learn more about the MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme