Zoe Frieslick - BA (Hons) Applied Social Sciences

Zoe Frieslick feels she has the world at her feet after becoming the first person in her family to attend university.

The 27-year-old from Aberdeen completed BA (Hons) Applied Social Sciences and believes it has opened up an exciting future for her as she decides what to do with her career.

She decided to “take a shot” at a higher education after being unsure of it previously, but after successfully finishing at NESCol, Zoe took a leap of faith coming to RGU and it has paid off.

Zoe said: “I have always been someone who struggles with making decisions, Social Sciences allows me to have options due to the potential employment pathways not being restricted, which means I wasn’t diverted down a specific avenue. I was always fascinated with psychology and how individual brains work differently and the reasons behind this which led me towards taking social sciences and developing an interest in other areas within the field including sociology and politics.

“I feel so grateful to have come this far, I never envisioned being good enough to reach a university level degree so I’m extremely proud of myself for getting to this point. RGU has been beyond my wildest dreams, I have really enjoyed my time here and I feel very bittersweet about leaving.”

Zoe, who attended Peterhead Academy, made use of several RGU’s student support services which helped key her on track throughout the duration of her time at the Garthdee campus. She also enjoy success with Zoe and her classmate Hannah Forbes winning the Julian P. Bell Award for student contribution to Applied Social Sciences

One of the main reasons for Zoe coming to RGU was so that she could improve her employment prospects with a degree in hand and in turn build a future for her and her son. Furthermore, she praised RGU staff her helped her navigate the path to success.

Zoe said: “After having my son in 2016, I didn’t have many options for employment but wanted to do something with my life in order to develop my skills and employment opportunities until he was older.

“The staff are RGU have been such a highlight, they’ve made being here so comfortable and have really helped me excel here. The lecturing staff have always been so supportive and helpful, particularly Dr Lee Boag and Dr Caroline Hood. The student recruitment team and the finance team have also been so wonderful.

“In so many ways, the skills I have developed here are guaranteed to help me on my career journey, from researching to networking I feel confident in my ability to be the best I can be in any field I decide to go into.”