Meet Katie

Why did you choose to study at Newcastle University?

The thing that I really liked about Newcastle University's modern languages degrees was the flexibility.

I had never studied Spanish before, but I wanted to try it and I like the fact that I could pick this up in my first year and if it wasn’t for me there were no consequences of dropping this later on.

I also liked that I could choose how much of my degree was related to business studies whereas a lot of other universities just had degree courses on offer that were mainly business studies with modern languages on the side (say 5 or 10%). 

How do you think your course prepared you for your chosen career? 

One of the things that I think has helped me with the most is my relationships with colleagues in other territories.

My course has helped me to understand different cultures and appreciate other languages. Although English is generally a primary language used in the business world, it’s helpful to have a background in modern languages to understand how best to communicate with colleagues from other countries.

I think that my degree gave me very strong communication skills and especially on my year abroad I think this helped me to understand how best to communicate with people when there are barriers. 

What did you enjoy most about your time at Newcastle University? 

I really enjoyed picking up a new language and I was surprised how quickly I was able to learn Spanish. It helped me to make a lot more friends during my year abroad as I could chat to English and French speakers, but also mutual friends who spoke Spanish.

Describe your time at Newcastle University in three words 

Exciting, fulfilling, rewarding