Zoriana’s Inspiring Journey
Zoriana is a Ukrainian student who arrived in the UK last June. Before journeying to the UK, Zoriana studied in both Ukraine and Latvia. She began studying in Latvia after fleeing Ukraine last March. While attending school in Latvia, Zoriana still undertook distance learning from her school in Ukraine, which included Zoom lessons and Google Classroom assignments. Despite facing the challenges of juggling both sets of schoolwork, with one done through distance learning, making new friends, and also having to learn a new language for her Latvian school, Zoriana rose above these trials and earned an outstanding set of results from both schools through her hard work and effort. Joseph Chamberlain College was thoroughly impressed by Zoriana’s results and interview. Zoriana also extends her thanks to Rosie, our Assistant Principal for College Operations, for assisting her in adding qualifications from both schools to her UCAS application.
Zoriana chose to study Maths, Further Maths, Computer Science, and IT at Joseph Chamberlain College, wishing to progress to a degree in Computer Science after finishing her A-Levels. Zoriana achieved an incredible set of AS-Level results in her first year, attaining A, A, B, and D*, an outstanding accomplishment. She stated, “I’m very happy that I decided to go to college, and so glad I have been accepted into Joseph Chamberlain College,” also touching on the fact that she enjoyed the college environment and the independence she is given.
Additionally, Zoriana told the college that she has been “given the opportunity to apply to different schemes with the help from the college’s staff, specifically Rosie and Vanessa. I would have had no idea there are schemes to support students like me without their help.” One of the schemes that Zoriana has been accepted into is the Warwick Scholars’ Scheme. This scheme is a fantastic opportunity, giving successful students a 50% discount on yearly tuition fees at Warwick University, a conditional offer that can be up to four grades lower than the standard requirements, career support, support with living expenses, and also the opportunity to apply for certain bursaries. Zoriana also attended a Sutton Trust Summer School at Warwick University, telling the college that she “applied for Mathematical Sciences, but was happy that it involved Computer Science, including programming solutions using different programming languages.” Zoriana also stated that it was “not only a very good academic experience but also great to experience the life of a university student. This scheme gives you a sense of what it is like to attend university and how your life will look like.” Zoriana described Warwick as a “great university” with a “nice campus” and, especially after the aforementioned schemes, believes it is her first choice university to attend and study Computer Science after Joseph Chamberlain College.
Finally, Zoriana wanted to share some valuable advice with Joseph Chamberlain College’s new cohort of students: “I would like students going into year 12 to have more confidence in themselves. Take advantage of the range of experiences available to year 12s.”
Joseph Chamberlain College is incredibly proud of Zoriana and her numerous outstanding achievements and would like to thank her for sharing her inspiring story. The college is eager to see what year 13 has in store for Zoriana.
