Student Voice

Hi, I’m Kat.  I grew up in Nottingham and matriculated at Clare in 2020.  I studied Economics and graduated this June.  My most long-standing hobby is netball – before University, I played competitively for seven years, and I immediately joined Clare College’s netball team which I became Captain of in my second year.  Towards the end of my first year, I bought myself some rollerblades, and in Michaelmas of my second year, some friends and I set up the Cambridge Skate Society.  Skating soon became my favourite activity, and we had lots of fun hosting skate sessions and socials.  One of my favourite parts of Clare was, of course, Clare Cellars, and I bartended there for my full three years at Cambridge.  In my second year, I joined the bar committee to run events, and I especially enjoyed planning social events for the bar workers.  Following on from this, during my third year, I became the Treasurer of Clare Jazz, a society that organizes bi-weekly jazz events in Clare Cellars.  The events always sold out, and it was fun to be part of a society that brought together so many people in college!

What important lessons did you learn during your time at Clare?

Cambridge, and Clare specifically, has so much to offer in terms of extracurricular activities and societies.  Overwhelmingly aware that University only lasts three years, I sought to involve myself in as much as possible.  Whilst it was great to have so many options, as someone who suffers from ‘FOMO’ (the fear of missing out), I often felt pressured to always be doing more.  Over time, I learnt that this attitude was counterproductive – it hindered my ability to fully enjoy the activities I tried so hard to involve myself in. The most important lesson I learnt at Clare was how to overcome this.  I learnt to trust that whatever I chose to do in my free time was the right choice for me, to stop comparing myself to a hypothetical version of myself that could do more, and, most importantly, to be proud of the work I was doing, the hobbies I had, and the friends I had made.  I now feel more able to make the most of each moment, and I’m so grateful for my time at Clare for this life lesson as I believe it will serve me well in the future.

What were the key challenges you found studying your course?

The most difficult part of my Cambridge experience was, by far, the imposter syndrome.  It crept up on me, most likely exacerbated by the COVID rules in my first year which meant that there were few opportunities to meet other students face to face.  Within weeks of starting my degree, I developed the bad habit of constantly comparing myself to my perceptions of others.  Of course, the content was a big step up from A-Levels.  In hindsight, I seemed to misinterpret the jump in difficulty of the content as an indication that I wasn’t smart enough to be at Cambridge.  In my academics, this resulted in me hesitating to make strong arguments; in my life, this translated into strong feelings of anxiety.  However, with support from friends, family, and staff throughout my first year, I taught myself to not panic in lectures or supervisions when I felt that I didn’t understand the content.  I learnt to stop doubting myself – instead trusting that the admissions tutors had made the right decision – and chose to be confident that, given the hard work I was putting in, I could figure out the concepts we were taught.  Crucially, I learnt to stop comparing myself to others.  Perhaps the most important skill I developed at Cambridge was the ability to trust and believe in myself, and I now thank my battle with imposter syndrome for training me to do so!

What are your plans for the future?

In the summer after my second year, I did an investment banking internship at Lazard, and I was fortunate to receive a job offer following this.  However, after three intense years at Cambridge, I didn’t feel ready to start full-time work at age 20!  I am grateful that Lazard has allowed me to defer my place for one year, meaning that this year, I am taking a gap year.  With the money I saved from my internship, I will be flying to Rio de Janeiro to begin six months of backpacking around South America with two friends from Clare College!  I’m super excited and I feel incredibly grateful to be in this position – I can’t wait.  After this, I will start work at Lazard in July 2024.  I’m not yet sure what my longer-term career plans are, but I’m happy with my current trajectory and I appreciate that I’ll be able to make more informed future career choices once I have started work and widened my horizons.  I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds!!

What did you enjoy most about life at Clare and what will you miss the most?

When people ask me why I picked Clare College, I always list two reasons: its reputation as the ‘friendly’ college, and, of course, Clare Cellars.  These two factors truly came together during my time at Clare to create the perfect Cambridge experience.  What I enjoyed most about life at Clare was the community.  I met so many kind and incredible people at Clare, and it felt like everyone in the year group got on with everyone else.  Friendship groups mixed well, and this created a good atmosphere in the library, common rooms, and college bar – I felt like I could be friends with everyone in the year group.  I feel that this is what made working at Cellars such a rewarding part of my college experience.  Not only was it entertaining to serve friends’ drinks, but working bar shifts allowed me to meet students in other year groups, which expanded my social network within college and enhanced the community feeling throughout my three years at Clare.  For sure, the thing that I will miss most about Clare is the people.  I’ll miss walking down the stairs of my accommodation, Castlebrae, and straight into my friends’ rooms.  I’ll miss walking to Castle Street to cook dinner with friends after a long day of lectures and libraries.  At the time, we knew that the University experience of living surrounded by your closest friends was to be cherished, and I’m thankful that we made the most of it.