Although Emily has greatly benefitted from the academic aspects of her degree, it was the opportunity to spend a year abroad, as well as her involvement with student societies, that proved to be the highlights of her time at Lancaster. “In my first year I tried out many things such as kayaking, climbing, going out with RocSoc (Rock Society), all of which I really enjoyed, but throughout the years what I have been most involved with is Lancaster Amnesty International Society and Lancaster Oxfam Society,” she says. “I was quite shy before coming here, but by coming to Lancaster I have been given opportunities such as being part of an executive for a society, completing an internship at the University and even living in Canada for a year! I knew that Lancaster has great study abroad opportunities and I have a strong interest in travelling. All of these (amongst others I haven’t mentioned) have not only been a lot of fun to experience, but have filled me with confidence and I feel much more prepared for what comes next after university. The opportunities that Lancaster has given me have been the best thing about studying here.”

Emily feels that the skills and knowledge that she has gained at Lancaster will prepare her effectively for her career in the future, as she wishes to undertake a career related to statistics. “I would like to become a medical or environmental statistician, or if not, work for a non-profit organisation such as Amnesty International or Oxfam,” she says.

In addition, the excellent teaching and friendly, supportive staff proved to be the highlight of Glen’s time at university. “The best thing about studying at Lancaster is the high level of teaching,” he says. “All of the staff are extremely friendly, and most have an open door policy where you can go and ask them about any problems you are having.”

A wealth of opportunities

Glen has greatly enjoyed participating in the Archery Club since arriving at Lancaster, and his pursuit of the Lancaster Award has boosted his CV and enhanced his career prospects. “In my first year I joined the Archery Club and have been a member for all three years,” he says. “It has been highly enjoyable getting involved and learning a new sport that before coming to Lancaster I hadn’t done. There is a huge range of societies and clubs, so there really is something for everyone.

“I have also completed the Lancaster Award which is a programme designed to enhance your CV. It involves completing six (or more) activities to enhance your career prospects - for example, work experience and campus and community development. You then have to reflect on what skills you have learnt and also complete an application form and interview. I found completing the Award highly enjoyable, and it also really enhanced my CV.”

Advice and further study

When asked what his plans were after graduation, Glen replied that he is going to continue studying at Lancaster at postgraduate level, undertaking an MSc in Statistics. He has advice for prospective students wishing to study in the Department, encouraging them to take part in extracurricular activities and to take advantage of the extensive support offered by the University. “I would say to get involved with activities outside your course to enjoy your time here - it is amazing how quickly the three years passes,” he says. “Also, don’t be afraid to go ask for help from the staff if needed. I found it daunting at first, but soon I realised that they are friendly and often want to help.”

Challenges and support

Now undertaking a PhD in Statistics and Operational Research with the STOR-i Centre for Doctoral Training, Rhian Davies transferred to Lancaster after spending a year at Chester University, attracted by the challenge that Lancaster’s course presented. “I originally started at Chester University, found the course not to be challenging enough and transferred to Lancaster straight into my second year,” she says. Upon arriving in Lancaster, Rhian was particularly impressed with the level of support on offer for students. “Whenever I had problems with the weekly homework assignments, I was able to chat with my personal course tutor,” she says.  “Also, the administrative staff are fantastic.”

As well as the support that she received, Rhian was also struck by the friendly, community atmosphere of the Department. “Lancaster’s Maths Department has a very supportive and friendly feel,” she says. “Over the course of my undergraduate degree, I got to know my tutors, lecturers and the admin staff well, which meant that it was much easier to ask for help.”

A flexible degree

Despite originally taking all of her third year modules in Pure Mathematics, the flexibility of Lancaster’s degree schemes allowed her to change these when she discovered her passion for statistics. “At the end of my second year, I chose my third year modules, all of which were in Pure Mathematics,” she says. “However, over the summer I did a STOR-i research internship on a statistics project, and found my love for statistics! Julia Tawn helped me to change my third year modules to study more statistics instead, and now I’ve ended up doing a statistics PhD.”

In addition, Rhian found the content of her course to be engaging and enjoyable. “My favourite topic during my studies was ‘Stochastic Processes’, where I learnt how to analyse Markov processes and how they can be used to model queues and populations,” she says.

Strong career foundations

Rhian believes that the content of her course at Lancaster, as well as the skills that she has gained during her degree, have prepared her well for her current PhD studies. “The opportunity to tackle interesting, challenging problems encouraged me to go on to further study,” she explains. “The opportunity to do a research internship in the summer of my second year also gave me the confidence to continue into postgraduate research.”

Rhian also feels that the skills that she has gained through the internships that she undertook during her undergraduate degree have helped to prepare her for her current studies. “During my second year, I took a summer internship on the STOR-i programme at Lancaster University,” she says. “I had the opportunity to carry out real research, and discover what it’s like to continue postgraduate research in statistics. After third year, through a member of staff, I secured an internship working as a data scientist at Unilever Research, where I did some time series analysis.”

Excellent facilities

Rhian was grateful for the facilities available to students in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, as well as those available to all Lancaster students, making full use of them during her time here. “The University has a Learning Zone where I could study with friends in a group,” she says. “I prefer working in a chatty environment, so the Learning Zone offers a more comfortable learning environment than the library for me. We also have a ‘maths café’ - a weekly informal gathering where third year students help first year students with maths assignments.”

Advice for students

Having had a fantastic experience at Lancaster University, Rhian highly recommends the University to prospective students, and advises them to attend a Visit Day if they can. “The department offers a challenging course, and I made some great friends for life along the way,” she says. “If you’re thinking of studying mathematics here, try a Mathematics Visit Day. There are always plenty of maths staff and students to chat to!”

He loves to use philosophy with his pupils at Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale, as a means of thinking about the big questions – whether humans should build machines as intelligent as ourselves, the morals of rationing health care, whether animals have souls and whether states should be able to dictate whether a woman can have an abortion.

As assistant head at a school numbering 1400 pupils from 40 primary schools drawn from three counties – Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire – much of his teaching time is assigned to mathematics. However in formal philosophy courses, and informal discussions with pupils, he loves to challenge them to play with ideas, and not to be afraid of tackling important issues.

The challenge of sharing his passion for ideas continues to fire his professional life. After 20 years as a teacher he counts himself fortunate still to be in a job he loves: "I still get up feeling that I have a moral purpose and that I am doing something worthwhile – it is a job where you change people's lives."

Adrian holds Lancaster University responsible for inspiring his philosophical interests. The three-subject option in the first year was the greatest draw for him as an 18 year old, straight from a mediocre comprehensive school in the West Midlands. He was, he says "a typical mathematician" with a liking for finality, but the opportunity to study philosophy alongside mathematics and ICT, opened up his thinking in new ways.

Mathematics was enjoyable but it was the philosophy courses that really felt exciting and relevant. Of course he wrestled with the meaning of life and with courses on existentialism and Nietzsche, but he also tackled issues like artificial intelligence and the separation of mind, body and brain, that continue to be hot topics for discussion today. He dropped ICT after the first year, but continues to use it at school when teaching mathematics.

He felt instantly at home on the campus and spent most of his time socialising there outside lectures, with people he met on his course and in college. Having bars to hand made it easy to drop in and chat to people over a drink, without it turning into "a session". He and his friends also took advantage of the nearby Lake District to explore the fells.

Adrian also met his wife, Tina (née Mant) in Bowland. Tina was doing psychology. She is now a speech and language therapist and they have three children.

At the end of his course he was interviewed for maths-based jobs such as actuarial work, but found them 'lacking in heart'. He applied to do a PGCE at St Martins and immediately felt he had found his niche. Since his first teaching job at a high school in Chorley, he has moved to other maths teaching positions around Lancashire, until arriving in his current job in 2007. Today half his time as an assistant head teacher of an Ofsted-rated 'outstanding' school, focuses on staff and professional development, classroom teaching methods and developing links with the community as a Teaching School. He is also trying to develop links between the school and universities including Lancaster.

He feels Lancaster University prepared him for teaching and inspired his love for philosophy, which lives with him daily. He says: "Lancaster got me excited. I have a critical eye on the world and my time there helped me to think about and try to resolve issues."