Vy Huynh

Hello, my name is Vy. I'm a student who studied business management and marketing at Solent University. I did go to an open day at Solent University, and we were shown around by these student ambassadors. We could see that like they really enjoyed showing us around the uni and they really enjoyed being here, which really inspired me as well.

At the beginning I was a bit unsure about what I wanted to do, and I was choosing between business and events management. And then at the end, I chose business management because it offered me a broader range and it also gave me the chance to explore different aspects, opened up a bit more doors for me.

And then as an international student myself, Solent University offer a really good support system for international students. So you have like, the English language support, a careers fair for part-time jobs... So we have more options as well.

As an international student I found it really hard, you know, initiating the first conversation, because you do get that anxiety. But then they do go out of their way... they come up and they say hi to you, and they support you during the lecture. They check up on you. And then after they do offer one-to-one support as well, which is what I'm really grateful for. And that's how they've helped me to go beyond, you know, your limit.

And then they’re really knowledgeable as well, in terms of most of them came from a real industry, had like a real industry experience and most of their insights are realistic. And then they also create opportunities for you as well. So I think that that's a really good thing.

if you were to ask me to, you know, do public speaking at the beginning of university, I would not have been able to do it. But since then I've had so many presentation projects throughout my three years of uni, the work as well that I've done, you know, the essays, the dissertation, the surveys I did, all of those projects have really helped me. Working on myself has really, like, pulled me out of that shell, I would say.

From the very first day, we've been told that it's really good to think about the connections that you make while you're here. It's not just about for employability after, but it's also about, you know, keeping in touch with people that will really, really help you along the way.

In my third year, I've done a live project with Boots, which is a really competitive company, and we were able to work on a real life project, which really helped us shape our thinking within the business world. So it really did help me, like, with setting my mind about what route I wanted to go down, which also aided me with securing a place on the graduate program that I'm in today as well.

I'm now working as a graduate manager at the De Vere Hotel on a 15 to 18 months program, and it's a rotation. I'm currently on reception, and then after that I'll be moving on to conference and banqueting, and then by the end of the program, I will be working towards a little bit more of a management role.

When you graduate from uni, you just feel like that's it. I finish uni, I can relax a little bit now... But then you get to the summer and then you start at work. And I was like, you do have real life responsibilities to do.

But that's an exciting aspect of it, because you do get that chance to progress now a bit more towards your life, like just coming out of that shell, which I find really like exciting, I would say.