STUDENT SUPPORT
EMBRACING MY JOURNEY
Starting university and becoming independent can feel overwhelming. At the forefront of everything we do are our students. We’re here to support and motivate you to achieve your ambitions. We have a range of services right here on campus to help you settle into university life. You can gain support on managing your finances, workload, settling into shared accommodation, accessing medical services and more. Support teams include: ■ The Residential Community team provide support for students living in on-campus residences to build a safe and welcoming community for all ■ The Warwick Wellbeing and Student Support Services team provide a range of practical and emotional support to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities of student life. The team work in conjunction with the Health Centre and can help students to access other support services available on campus ■ The Disability Services team provide tailored support for students who are disabled, have a specific learning difference or long-term health condition. They can put in place reasonable individual adjustments to ensure students can successfully complete their degree and get the most out of life at Warwick ■ The Counselling and Psychology Interventions team offer a range of therapeutic interventions for students experiencing emotional or psychological issues ■ The WBS Student Experience and Engagement team work alongside Personal and Senior Tutors to provide pastoral care. They also organise wellbeing, community and belonging events at WBS such as yoga classes and pets as therapy, and run our peer-led buddy scheme ■ You’ll also have a Personal Tutor , who is an academic member of staff who will support you both academically and pastorally.
I’m a third-year Management student – here is a little bit about my experience getting diagnosed with ADHD during my time at WBS. This story starts with a lot of struggling to get through my first year at WBS, not from a lack of support but rather from a lack of knowledge. Indeed, a diagnosis like this isn’t a curse but rather an instruction manual on how to work around a different system – I had until then been trying to function with the wrong instruction manual! Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing first year. Building independence, meeting friends and joining societies - life was jolly fun! I mostly struggled academically, particularly with working regularly and completing assignments on time. It was simply nothing I had experienced before, as I had gotten through school relatively easily without much effort. This new structure, heavily reliant on independent work, although freeing, was proving a struggle to adapt to. I at first blamed it on the transition from the French academic system I used to be in, to university. This struggle continued, and if anything, it became worse. As essays were returned, I saw my grades topple. I struggled to start and stay consistent with exam revision. On the other hand, I excelled at group projects. In hindsight, I function much better with incremental steps and external accountability, which these assessments provide naturally. During my second year, as the difficulty and the workload rose, these difficulties became more prevalent, and I started feeling increasingly isolated in those struggles. It made me think about deeper issues than the regular “I’m just lazy” internal thought. Three main factors encouraged me to seek a diagnosis: research, my support system, and the university. The first one would be my friends and support system. Speaking up about those struggles, what can help, and what the reasons could be, regardless of a diagnosis, is key for everyone. For instance, I study much better with someone with me,
so organising study sessions helped! Talking to friends who were considering a diagnosis or had already had one was also beneficial, as it validated my feelings and encouraged me to look into it. It also led me to contact the Warwick Wellbeing and Student Support department. Warwick Wellbeing and Student Support offers support from physical and mental disabilities to housemate struggles. They warmly welcomed me and offered me a free non-diagnostic testing session. This test, although non-diagnosing, was a game changer. Very similar to the final test I would get, it provided validation from an external unbiased perspective and advised me that I should indeed investigate an ADHD diagnosis and explained the different options I had. It was the final prompt that led me to get a diagnosis back in my home country. Once diagnosed, Warwick Wellbeing and Student Support provided further support by offering me “Reasonable Adjustments,” a list of adjustments tailored to my condition and needs, like more flexibility with deadlines and the opportunity to sit exams in a smaller room with some break time. These adjustments along with exploring what works for me, and avoiding all the negative self-talk, have been life-changing, especially academically. The team offers weekly ADHD meetings, which have been lovely as I have found a community I can relate to. In our catch-ups, we share how we navigate the world; I am very grateful for this opportunity. This was an eye-opening and incredibly freeing experience, allowing me to feel much more fulfilled with my academic journey than I did when starting. I’ve learnt to be less harsh on myself and how to work around my struggles. Comparing myself to others leads me nowhere - we all have things we struggle with that may not be obvious at first!
Eléonore Ogerau BSc Management with Marketing
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Undergraduate Programme
wbs.ac.uk/go/undergraduate
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