by Walter Vundla (recent International student)

Having been born in Zimbabwe and moving to South Africa at an early age with my family to seek a better life, we faced a lot of adversity. Having to adapt to diverse cultures and getting used to different school syllabuses was a challenge. I was in grade 6 which is equivalent to Year 6. The teaching systems were completely different, languages were different (only one was similar which is Ndebele and Zulu) as South Africa has 11 official languages. I had to learn at least the basics of other languages to be able to communicate with other people which was a lesson I was determined to learn.  

We then moved to the UK (United Kingdom) on a family reunion visa in 2014 August. It was around 1pm when we landed at Birmingham Airport and we were welcomed by cold rainy weather which I was not used to. We were then told that this was the summer!

It took some time to get used to the weather and to be honest, at times I still feel like I have not yet adapted to the weather yet. I only had about two weeks to enrol at college and one week to get ready to start a new academic journey in the UK. It was overwhelming. However, the four academic years I spent at college went by fast and soon I found myself applying for university. The first tip I would give to international student is to come prepared for the wet weather, especially towards the end of September to January.  

I knew I wanted to go to Staffordshire University and made sure that it was my first preference. I studied Business Management from 2018 to 2022 where I obtained a 2:1 (Upper second class) and was the first grandchild to graduate in my family. I received a lot of help throughout the academic years especially my last year with my dissertation. University resources and lectures were always available when I needed to use them or needed help. The second tip for the student is, make sure that you attend the sessions in the first few weeks of the academic year as the layout and introduction of the courses will be given out. These will also help you to meet the lecturers and get to know them as it will make it easier to ask for help.

The third tip is, attend all the Welcome Week activities, if possible. It is a chance to network with other students and make friends with people from different courses and backgrounds. Having diverse friendships can provide a deeper level of support to help with any challenges that one may face.  

In 2016 I joined Stafford Town FC where I spent at least five years playing as a semi professional football player. While at Stafford Town FC I was named the vice-captain of the team and later became captain. I was voted the management player of the year, we won a league cup and got promoted to the league above. I then stopped playing football to focus on my last year of university as I looking to obtain good grades. The fourth tip is, join student union as there are activities that one can partake in throughout the academic year.  

The fifth and final tip I would give is, make sure that all assignments are submitted on time and not left to the last minute. This will give you enough time to ask the lecturers to scan through the assignments and give you some feedback to point you to the right direction.

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In-depth advice for International student think of studying at Staffordshire University