Sahil Jaiswal
International student, Sahil, has written about moving to a new country and getting out of his comfort zone
Moving to a new country was a decision to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone and to look for a fresh start in my life. I chose to do my masters in Sustainable Architecture at the University of Sheffield as it is one of the top universities in the UK and in architecture.
Being away from home made me question my ability to live on my own but later I met many people from both same and different countries who were going through the same situation. This resulted in a strong bond developing between us. Soon I became a representative for the MSc in Sustainable Architecture Studies (SAS) because of my abilities and skills. This gave me an opportunity to be the voice for SAS students, which made me more responsible and created networking opportunities with the architecture department.
As a student of SAS, I got the opportunity to go to Switzerland for a field trip which was a great experience for me as I got to see a new country with my coursemates. Together we explored many architectural landmarks that had sculpted the city. Exploring the city for the whole day and later in the night playing games, having dinner and staying together in the hostel helped us get to know each other better. Moreover, as a course, we attend other events and activities such as the Christmas party, street food festival, hiking, Holi and we also created the SAS Olympics. Events, activities and field trips like this gave me an opportunity to make great memories and these experiences gave much more meaning to my life as a masters student.
Having well-equipped programmes and always challenging the students to be critical about their work gave me a broader perspective. The guidance and support from my department expanded my horizon in the field of sustainability and helped me expand my skills on a professional level.
The city of Sheffield and the University has given me more than what I had expected as this is a turning point in my life and I have grown so much in this past year as a person. I am looking forward to making more memories here that I can embrace for the years to come.
Sahil Jaiswal
MSc in Sustainable Architecture Studies