So, as you have probably read on several other blogs within this site, the whole my name is ____ I am studying ____ and basically only posting on here because my lecturer told me to do so in order to achieve my grade in his or her module. I don’t think anyone will actually admit that but we are here now, so buckle up.
Fresh out of a riveting lecture on my dissertation on a chilly Friday morning at Jordanstown campus, unsure of what I actually wanted to write about I thought it would be a good idea to write about myself.
If you are still with me at this point I commend you, I will admit my vocabulary isn’t overly diverse or sophisticated. Having read some other blogs, I think if I use big words I will get a higher mark, photosynthesis.
Having completed GCSE and A-Level (which seems like an eternity ago) I had the option to part ways with education and work for my father in his shipping company. Making which I would consider decent money for my age and maybe even getting a split of the profits without having to put myself into debt. I did not at the time see this as a very attractive option for some reason, so I opted for a place at university. Thinking back on it I do sit and wonder if I did the right thing, others that were in my class at school went travelling, moved to the other side of the world, had children and some even work in the local cinema. Dreamers.
The first two academic years of university are over me and counted for absolutely nothing. All the stress and worry about assignment deadlines and exams seems a bit silly right now because now in final year I suppose I am in “the business end of the season”. Keeping the football analogy going, it’s week 3 and I just conceded a first half penalty, down to 10 men and the referee seems to be against me. If you aren’t into football talk I’m basically saying I am finding it difficult.
Last summer my girlfriend and I traveled around Europe for 16 days, this really opened my eyes to how big the world is. It made me wonder if I had chosen the correct pathway in my life, surely there has to be more to life than sweating out a dissertation or sitting in heavy traffic at 8:30am to arrive in late to a 9:15 lecture that I don’t have a lot of interest in listening to. Maybe there isn’t and I’m just a dreamer, your guess is at good as mine at this point.
We were over half way through our travels, staying in a campsite near Venice when I had received the long-awaited phone call to say I was offered an interview for my optional 3rd year placement. The interview was going to take place the morning after I got home, me being me I wasn’t overly on the ball researching the company for the interview because I was inter railing around Europe “living my best life”, enjoying myself and experiencing new things with someone I care about.
Once I landed in Dublin airport I got the bus back to Belfast and stayed with my granny. My mother had my suit prepared and I researched the company when on the way home as my girlfriend drooled on my shoulder exhausted from endless hours of travelling.
I don’t want to keep you here all day, but I got the placement. I spent six months working for this company in South Belfast as a “Communications and Public Relations Officer”, a very big title for a pretty medium sized guy.
I really enjoyed several aspects of this placement opportunity, however it was a big culture shock going into a professional office environment for the first time. The work load at the start wasn’t really a problem because my colleagues didn’t really expect too much of me.
But soon after I had started I got my “big boy pants” for lack of a better 
description. I knew the company, traveled around the different offices, met with several directors and managers, attended events and I feel that I grew up a lot in such a short amount of time simply because I had no choice. This is why I feel that doing a placement was absolutely fantastic for me, I got a lot out of it and it helped me think about what I want to do once I graduate.
Yes of course I want to do well in life whatever avenue I decide to go down, but I think it is even more important to be happy with what you are doing. Maybe I will get a very professional job as a Public Relations Practitioner or even a Marketing Executive. Maybe I’ll go on to work in Politics, or maybe at the end of these 90 minutes I’ll take it to extra time try to sneak the win on penalties.
Eoin Crossan is a final year BSc in Communication Management & Public Relations student at Ulster University. He can be found on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoin-crossan-848a30171/