Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
First year sports enthusiast talks to us about how she has adapted to studying during the COVID-19 pandemic
Shannon Thomas tells us how excited and ready she was to start at University, and how helpful and supportive her tutors have been whilst working from home in her first year of study.
My name is Shannon Thomas, I’m a first-year student studying Physical Education at Leeds Beckett University and I’m currently living at Carnegie Village in halls of residence.
I chose to study Physical Education because I have always been extremely passionate about sports and exercise and would like to go on to do a PGCE after finishing my course. This is so that I can hopefully pursue my dream career as a Physical Education teacher.
I was really excited to start my university journey but also nervous due to the current circumstances surrounding the pandemic. I was really surprised at how great my experience has been so far even despite being mid-way through a global pandemic.
My peers and tutors have been so helpful and supportive. The university has been amazing with helping me to make sure I have the right support for my studies and to make sure that if I needed any extra support that they would put it in place.
My first term at Leeds Beckett was a mixture of practical and theory lessons. Some of these were face to face, and then the rest was all online. For my second term everything will be online.
My lecturers have constantly ensured I am able to access all resources required, and they have also been fast to answer any questions I have. They have given me an awful lot of support at times when I’ve struggled.
For anyone who studies remotely at home, my advice would be make sure to ask your lecturers questions if you don’t understand because they are always willing to help you as much as they can. Always make sure to set a plan of when you will be doing work at home to ensure you have allocated enough time. As a race walker outside of my studies, I struggled at first balancing university work with training 5 days a week, but through planning and organisation I’ve already been able to improve my time management.
Shannon Thomas
Shannon Thomas, a first year Physical Education student who started in 2020.
