Bachelor's Graduation 2017

I graduated on Thursday 6th July 2017 with first class honours in English Language from the University of Birmingham.  Coming to university and moving to a big city such as Birmingham was a life-changing experience, and it proved to be a very different lifestyle from the one I had known from my childhood in the South West of England, in the Forest of Dean.  With the vast amounts of people and wealth of knowledge I experienced at university, I met with so many different and stimulating ideas, which developed my understanding of the English language and other languages besides, as well as making many friends.  Being admittedly quite intense at times with a lot of challenges thrown in, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at university during my Bachelor's degree.

The graduation day itself was full to the brim of excitement and apprehension about the ceremony. First, donning the robes.  These are very traditional, yet seem to carry with them an air of accomplishment, pride, and promise for the future.  I successfully ascended the steps to receive my certificate (without tripping!) and celebrated the day with my closest family.  I am always grateful for their support, as well as the support from my supervisors and tutors.  I sincerely thank those who taught me for sharing their passion and expertise in their modules: Doctors Jeannette Littlemore, Bodo Winter, Paula Perez-Sobrino, Ruth Page, and Lee Oakley, to name but a modest few.   

There was a surprise yet to come, though.  Not only did I receive my first class honours on that day, but also the English Language and Applied Linguistics Research Project Prize for the highest marked final-year dissertation, and in recognition of my second-year Research Skills in English Language project.  It was an incredible addition to my achievements so far, and in part confirmed my enthusiasm for the subject, my love for learning, and my aspiration to pursue an academic career in the field of linguistics.

The future looks bright, as they say!  I am returning next academic year to complete my Master's by Research degree in English Language and Applied Linguistics.  My thesis will investigate verbal, visual, and multimodal instances of metaphor and metonymy in mobile phone app icons, and observe whether the presence of these figurative operations elicits a higher number of consumer downloads and positive reviews.  It proves to be a very challenging yet rewarding year to come.
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Copyright © Samantha Ford 2017-2018