By Bailey Kelly
Wow, what a journey it has been! I can’t believe it has already been half a year. Time has flown by, and there are only a few months left. This has been one of the most challenging couple of months for me personally. I entered this honours year a little differently from most of my classmates. I finished my undergraduate degree nearly 6 years ago and have been working since
(both in the scientific field and out of it). Going back to studying has been incredibly difficult but so rewarding at the same time. I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone every day and have grown tremendously from what I have learnt. I realized that I really could do anything that I put my mind to.
I was pleasantly surprised by how friendly, welcoming, and helpful my classmates and lecturers are at UCT. It really feels like you can ask anyone for help if you are stuck and nobody judges you. I did my undergrad at Stellenbosch University, and it was a different experience. I know an
undergrad is very different to a postgrad in terms of one-on-one interaction between students and lecturers (my undergrad group was massive and there are only 14 of us in IDI), but the UCT IDI lecturers have blown me away. They are friendly, supportive, and excellent at explaining such difficult concepts (because there are many of them that you will come up against, just a heads up). I was worried that I would be shy and intimidated by the lecturers because every single one of them has a bajillion degrees and qualifications and little ol’ me has only one, but this wasn’t the case. Yes, they are highly qualified and incredibly good at what they do, but they are also
very approachable.
What this honours degree has taught me so far is how to think differently, to question things, and to not just take a fact as a fact. Ask yourself, why is it like that? It really does help you understand concepts better. This was focused on a lot in one of the modules that I did, Bacteriology, which graded us on the quality of the questions we asked about our classmates’ article presentations. We spent a whole day listening to each other present our chosen articles
(and obviously presenting one ourselves). I walked away having majorly improved how I perform presentations (which is a VERY important skill to have in science) and the quality of the questions that I ask (this is a very important skill to have in science and life in general).
I am excited to dive into my project for the rest of the year and am grateful to have the opportunity to learn from my supervisor. I think that I am going to enjoy myself and will be proud of what I accomplish for the rest of my honours year.
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