Beyza
Biochemistry, 4th Year
My journey to Oxford was not well prepared. I always knew I wanted to go to Oxford, it was my dream, even at a very young age. But I never thought it was possible. I often like to dream about things that are unlikely, and Oxford was one of them. My school was not an Oxbridge school at all. My year was the most Oxbridge success we ever had in history – and by that, I mean there were 2 of us! Me for Oxford and one of my close friends for Cambridge. I became a bit of a celebrity in my school (I mean I already was but it just got better!) – I’m pretty sure my face and name is still up on the boards in the corridors everywhere.
Although my school was not well trained in sending students to Oxbridge, my Head of Sixth Form ensured she did her best to give me and my only mate who applied the best support, whether it be mock interviews through external Oxbridge organisations or extra support during the early application process. I had a good relationship with every single teacher at my school and not one of them thought I was incapable of getting in. I remember looking at the entry requirements for my course and vividly remember my moment with one of the most supportive sixth form staff and we both said ‘easy’ at the same time. They all encouraged me to apply, but there was one teacher in particular, the head of Maths, who I am still in touch with. He was probably more nervous for my exams and interviews than me and probably way more excited than me when he found out my A-level results! Although I have family members that went to university before I did, my parents did not go to university, so it was a huge moment for them to see their daughter not only get into university, but to get into the University of Oxford!
Being a ‘WOMAN IN STEM’ has been really important throughout my time here in Oxford. I appreciate it a lot and it is often an area of mutual pride between me and my other STEM peers. It is very interesting to be learning about topics that constantly have the potential for further research. I also love that my course is so broad, which means you get to pick what you want to specialise in.
However, STEM is not easy at Oxford and there are a lot of challenges that come with my course. We do not always get to pick modules and students like myself often struggle doing parts of the course they do not necessarily enjoy… for example Physics. There is a lot of content, and a huge proportion of our degree depends only on exams taken in 3rd year, so it can be a lot of work too!
I do not yet have a clear career path. However, in the future I would like to specialise in bioinformatics. This means using computational data to understand biological data. It would be amazing to feature in a scientific paper one day…
I did not actually apply to Teddy Hall; however, I could not have been happier about being allocated here. The aspect of life at Teddy that I enjoy the most is how much of a friendly community we have here. Everyone knows each other and everyone is always so inclusive. The tight-knit community always sticks together whether this is during dinner (or famously ‘Ming’), on nights out or even in the library (we love a cheeky gossip).
Although I do not play in any of the women’s sports teams, I take part in the weekly women’s social sport drinks. These events vary but most often we find ourselves in the college bar on a Thursday night, having a catchup and playing drinking games (everyone is welcome, and you do not necessarily have to play a sport – I certainly don’t and probably can’t anyway). I do hope to be more involved with college sport in the future though! For example, football… I need to be a part of more crew dates! These are usually structured by “sconces”: an Oxford tradition in which the person “sconced” must down their drink as a penalty for some infraction or another. For any prospective students reading this… I promise we do have non-drinking events too!
My favourite memories are those where the entire year group is together, such as Christmas dinners. Halfway-hall was also a really fun experience for me and a memory I will never forget. It was a pleasure winning the award ‘Most likely to become Insta-famous’- I wouldn’t say no…
What do you think of when you hear ‘Women of the Hall’?
Teddy Hall women are 100% distinct from the women of other colleges – even my friends from other colleges admit this and I have no shame in saying this is true! I can proudly say that I was women*s officer for the academic year 2021-22 and it was such an amazing and honourable experience to represent the wonderful Women of the Hall.
But, I must say that when I hear this phrase, there is only one thing that comes into mind – WOTH (women of the hall)!
This is a termly women’s-only event that takes place Thursday of 5th week every term. The night includes heading from Teddy Hall and visiting as many college bars as possible, before ending the night at the club. What makes this night extra special is the fact that there is a different theme every single term and the theme often means that we all look the same! I love this because it signifies the equality that we present between Women of the Hall. We all value and respect each other equally! PS: the theme this term was Mr.WOTHwide (Pitbull, the man himself) – genius I know.