I had no idea what I was planning on doing in the future, until I came across the Pathway Opportunity Programme at Queen’s.

The pathway programme started when I was in my first year of my level 3 BTEC course (Health and Social Care) and this programme involved doing activities based on your chosen subject (for me it was Psychology), and attending events where you were given information about university.

The activities were helpful as they helped me realise that I wanted to study psychology and helped me understand processes such as UCAS and student finance. I chose psychology because of my passion for helping others and trying to understand the complexities of the human mind.

My first time on campus

For me, unfortunately this was during 2021 so the majority of the programme was held online, but it was still a very enjoyable experience. At this time, I was still unsure about what I wanted to do after my level 3 course.

It wasn’t until the first activity on campus in-person, where I got to see Queen's for the first time, that I decided I wanted to study here. One of my favourite memories of being on the programme was walking through campus for the first time.

Working on the pathway programme

Coming to university is a scary experience, but having others in the same place and being able to talk to them about everything was one of my favourite aspects of the programme; coming in as a first year wasn’t so scary as I knew some people in my year from the pathway programme.

I am now finished with the second year of my psychology degree, and I work for the pathway programme as a student assistant. It feels really nice to be able to give back to the programme and help out the students currently in the programme. I have actually learned through working within the programme that I am interested in working with children.

Support is always available

Without the pathway programme, I wouldn’t have gone to university, and I would have never found out how much I enjoy working with children. So, I am very grateful for everything this programme has given me. My favourite aspect of working with the pathway programme is connecting with all the different students working there as well, as I have gotten to know people from different year groups and courses.

Even now as I am studying at Queen's, I still have the significant advantage of having support available for me as a pathway student, even after the initial programme ended. This provides me with a sense of stability and security of knowing that if I need help with anything, the pathway team are always there to assist.

The pathway team have a saying, “once a pathway student, always a pathway student” - this is a reassuring reminder that I am not alone in my academic journey.

My advice to anyone thinking of coming to Queen's, either through the Pathway Opportunity Programme or as a prospective student, is to get yourself onto campus and feel for yourself if you can see yourself studying here. It is also important to look back on how far you’ve come and be proud of yourself of where you are today.

Find out more

Pathway Opportunity Programme

Study Psychology at Queen's

Study at Queen's

Leah McIlwrath Psychology | Undergraduate Student | Northern Ireland I’m Leah, a 2nd year psychology student at Queen's. I am always enthusiastic and enjoy all aspects of life. I enjoy reading in my down time and I love to travel.