Hello, I am Jo and you are?

I am one of the recent additions to the UofL student bloggers, so hello and welcome to my very first blog post!

My name is Jo and as of October, I will be entering the fourth and last year of my degree studying Geology. Yes we do look at rocks and volcanoes I hear you ask, but there is so much more to it than just that so stay tuned!

Hopefully as you continue to read my blog over the next year, you will gain an insight into my life at the university, where I aim to stimulate some healthy discussions and answer any of your queries.

To explain my degree – I’m on a four year ‘MGeol Geology with a Year Abroad’ course. What is an MGeol? It’s an undergraduate Masters, it counts towards your undergraduate studies but you complete it before you graduate. To put it simply, it’s the sum if you were to combine a BSc and an MSc, however you graduate with a Masters in Geology (MGeol). I think it’s a great way to gain a Masters for those (including me) who cannot afford to pay for postgraduate courses without funding. Student Finance continue to help you through the entire four years as it counts as an undergraduate degree yet you graduate with a Masters!

A flowering Arizona Barrel cacti from Romero Pools

A few weeks ago I returned from my year abroad studying at the University of Arizona which is located in Tucson (roughly an hour north of the Mexican/US border). I won’t talk a great deal about this now as I’ll save it for a later blog post where I’ll be sharing with you my experiences and how I feel now that I have returned home. I’ll be giving you some travelling tips if you ever do decide to visit AZ, undertake a similar programme of study or study abroad in general.

My summer will consist of beginning my MGeol research project which I’ll let you know more about soon, learning to drive, DIY and juggling a part-time job. So as you can imagine I am going to be a busy bee.

Enjoy the sun and let me know if there is anything in particular you’d like me to blog about!