Matthew Beecher, Coláiste Chríost Rí
After a tiring week in the School of BEES in UCC I can only be grateful for such a fantastic experience. From the beginning to the end I was highly interested in the lectures, videos, practical work and discussions.
Initially I was slightly anxious in relation to the course but I was immediately at ease when I saw that almost everyone else seemed to be in the same boat as me. I was lucky to have a student from my year on the course too but I tried my best to make conversation with the students who seemed to have nobody. The Introduction began, we got our timetables and general information and looked as interested as possible to put in a good impression. We all sat in a slightly awkward silence when we were asked our expectations for the week ahead.
The introduction was followed by a tour of the campus and then we made our way to our first lecture. Dr Ruth Ramsay gave a gripping talk on marine biology, and we really got a taste of a real life lecture; there was no space for questions, nobody talking or giggling down the back and certainly nobody willing to stop and explain if you didn’t fully understand a subject or topic. The first lecture was followed by a mammal ID practical and a terrestrial Ecology practical, both were very detailed and interesting.
Day 2 kicked off with a Zoology practical and lecture on sea urchins presented by Prof Gavin Burnell. Although the practical didn’t work out (due to some unhappy sea urchins) we learned a lot concerning studies of marine species. The other students on the course seemed to have varied levels of interest but I found that if you give your undivided attention to the topic in hand the time flies by.
people who took interest in these sciences were all in a position just like mine at some stage and it made a college degree look much more feasible for me
The students we spoke with all understood the ways of the college and had so much helpful information to offer; for example I will certainly be joining as many clubs or societies as possible if I make it to UCC.
I would certainly recommend this course to any readers of this article who are in TY and I’m very thankful for such a phenomenal week.