Anna
Economics & Management, 3rd Year
I grew up in Bournemouth and went to a grammar school during my secondary school years. I swapped to a private school for sixth form on a full scholarship & bursary. I applied during sixth form to study another subject but didn’t get into Oxford. I took a gap year, worked at a consultancy, and reapplied for Economics and Management at Teddy Hall. I like that Economics and Management gives me the opportunity to choose the topics I’m interested in, and the breadth of the options. For example I wrote a case study on a 19th century glassmaking firm for my Global Business History module, whilst I’m currently studying Environmental Economics. When I first started, I felt very out of my depth having never studied either Economics or Business formally. However, the fact that I can now pick up an academic paper and understand where it fits in relation to other literature and be critical of the argument is quite cool.
There always seems to be something going on at Teddy Hall, and plenty of chances to get involved. In my time here I’ve tried out half-dozen sports, and another half-dozen activities at least! Without sounding clichéd, the spirit of the Hall seems to permeate everything around college. Whenever I go somewhere in college, I have to double the amount of time it will take me to get there as I know I’m always bound to run into someone and have a quick catch-up on their day.
I’ve got a few ideas about what I want to do after the Hall, but I’m currently keeping my focus on finals. Teddy Hall has given me the gift of critical analysis, alongside the confidence to know that I’ll end up on the right path for me.
There have been so many things that I know will stay with me from my time at the Hall. I’ve experienced a lot of joy at breakfast and ming (dinner). Particularly in first year, when most of our year group would mingle in the mornings, but when every meal brings great food and incredible company, it’s hard for it not to be a highlight.
What do you think when you hear ‘Women of the Hall’?
The first thing that comes to mind is WOTH (a termly event where the Women of the Hall go on a pub crawl), but more than that, we all have the Hall spirit. I’m constantly amazed by the strength of the women in college, and their willingness to give things a try and see how it goes. Everyone is incredibly supportive of each other, and I can’t count the number of times that people have told me to have the confidence to do something. I know that for the rest of my life, I’ll be rooting for a bunch of Teddy Hall women and that they’ll be rooting for me too.