Jacob Varghese, 23 from India
International student Jacob Varghese has been studying in Scotland since he was 16 years old and now at the age of 23, he boasts a colourful range of study, work and travel experiences only dreamt about by most young students. Jacob, of Indian origin, came to Scotland from Tripoli, Libya to join his mother who was working in Paisley. Looking for a new study experience following high school in Tripoli, he enrolled at Reid Kerr College to study a 2-year HND Information Systems.
"I heard about Reid Kerr through my mum who was already working in Paisley and the college reputation and wide range of courses really appealed to me. The course was tough and although I had no previous experience of Information Systems, the teaching support was excellent and I settled in very quickly to my new life here. I was glad that I made the move to Scotland and onto College, as it has lead to many great experiences, all of which have prepared me well for working after my full-time education comes to an end."
Not content with just his HND, Jacob also took on Highers at Reid Kerr and completed a Higher Maths and English in the evenings. After two very intense years at college, Jacob graduated from Reid Kerr in 2004 and promptly enrolled for university taking him onto 1st year of a BEng Mechanical Engineering.
"Living and studying in Scotland has been a great experience although I did find the cultural change quite dramatic when I first moved here. I soon made friends at college and realised that I had made the right move. At the start of my studies, I didn't have access to a computer at home, so thankfully the facilities at college were great. I used the computing labs regularly and found all of the staff very friendly, especially the student support from the International team, careers advice as well as student services."
Following a successful first year at university, Jacob made the decision to take a couple of years out of study to gain valuable work experience. He very quickly gained a placement with leading aircraft manufacturer, Airbus in Bristol, working in a performance management role for one year. He returned to education and took up his 2rd year at Strathclyde University to complete a BEng (Hons) Engineering & Enterprise Management.
"I was delighted to be given the opportunity to travel in my 3rd year at university and the course came with an optional exchange programme over one semester. Keen to travel and see more of the world I was lucky enough to be sent to Melbourne, Australia where I completed the last semester of my 3rd year. It was an amazing experience and I was able to travel to New Zealand before I returned to Scotland in the summer."
Jacob is now in his fourth and final year of university and having just completed his first semester exams he will now begin the search for a career after many years of study. Jacob hopes to work in either management consultancy or maybe the banking sector, depending on what opportunities arise towards the end of this year.