Aspiring PE teacher talks about studying from home during the Covid-19 pandemic

My name is Ronan Murphy, I’m a second-year student at Leeds Beckett University studying Physical Education. I’m very passionate about sport and I hope to have a career as a P.E. teacher after I graduate.

I returned to university for my second year of study during the COVID-19 pandemic, to be honest it was nice to have something to take my mind off the crisis! I have felt very supported by not only my peers and tutors but the university as well. I can appreciate this is brand new situation for the tutors as well as the students, it has been a learning curve for everyone! We receive regular updates from the Vice-Chancellor about the universities actions and policies. Keeping in contact with my mates on the course definitely helped, you realise you’re all in the same boat together.

The learning is obviously much different to last year due to the remote learning. University is, in my experience, about motivating yourself to do the work and it can be easier to decide to skip online lectures, but you’re only making life more difficult for yourself when assessments get closer if you decide to do this! My advice to others would be to attend as much as you can, just like you would in normal circumstances, work hard and you will be fine!

The lecturers are experiencing the pandemic as well, I can promise you it is not just us students, so be patient! The lecturers have still set plenty of work for you to be getting on with to keep you busy and engaged with your course. They have been prompting us with uploading content and have told us non-stop about available workshops to help us cope with remote learning.

Using the ‘little and often’ approach to studying always works for me personally. I believe in doing a small amount of work every day, so the work does not then pile up and become a large task. I also have a designated workspace; I can appreciate it is harder living in a house with your mates, but this is where you need to show discipline to get the work done, there is always a time for a laugh but do not let it interfere with your degree, you can do both as long as you manage your time!

Something I would suggest to anyone studying right now is if you do need a chat or something, then you must reach out. Another thing I would suggest is to try and be as positive as you can. Yes, life is hard at the moment and yes, we all wish it was back to normal, but everyone is dealing with similar frustrations. Tough times do not last, tough people do.