Grainne McGinn
Politics student aspiring to work in
communications or public service.
communications or public service.
My name is Grainne McGinn, I am a fourth-year undergraduate student completing my MA(SocSci) in Political Science at the University of Glasgow. I decided to pursue a degree in the social sciences because I am interested in understanding the world and critically engaging with different arguments, ideas and challenging my own biases.
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When I applied for university, I initially intended to study Philosophy and so took both Philosophy and Politics in my first and second year. I enjoyed how both subjects challenged me to question my ideas and develop key skills such as critical thinking and the ability to form sophisticated arguments. I eventually chose to solely pursue Political Science, as I felt it gave me an opportunity to develop those skills further and apply them to real life situations. The wealth of experience I have gained from writing reports, policy briefs, critical reviews and essays as a part of my degree programme has transformed me into an excellent communicator who knows how to effectively conduct research and compile information independently. Currently I have achieved an average grade of A4 (86%) over all of my completed modules thus far.
Additionally, during my time at University I was accepted and given a scholarship in 2018 to study abroad at a summer school in Nijmegen in The Netherlands. During this I chose to undertake the ‘European Human Rights Law’ course. This experience gave me the chance to improve my Dutch language skills as well as the increase my cultural awareness by working with academics from all over the world. Furthermore, I loved being given the chance to study and learn new things outside of my politics degree. I think it is important to take courses from many disciplines in order to improve your own academic work and research skills. This course gave me the opportunity to expand my world view and challenge myself academically by studying Law for the first time. Throughout my academic career I have especially enjoyed the chance to communicate my ideas. I have given presentations, completed group work and even had the opportunity to deliver a lesson of my own to fellow students during my ‘Human Rights in a Global Perspective.’ I know that the skills I have gained from my studies – communication, teamwork, research, critical thinking and public speaking – will be invaluable to my future career pursuits. |
Before attending university, my career aspirations were focused largely on the creative industries (particularly in TV and filmmaking). However, this focus has changed, as I would now love to work in a communication or policy-based role in a third sector or civil service organisation. Although my career direction has adjusted, I definitely gained a lot of valuable transferrable skills from my previous work including confidence, the ability to work independently, learn new skills and problem solving. In my last year at school, I earned a place on the FilmCity Futures ‘JumpCut’ 2016 programme after two rounds of intense full-day individual and group interviews. This experience highlights especially my confidence and passion to pursue what I love and to work hard to get to where I want to be. I was the youngest in the chosen group and was taking on a huge role (sometimes working 8 hours a day) while also sitting my Higher exams. This previous experience is, what in part, allowed me to develop the skills I use now at my jobs with the Students’ Representative Council and the College of Social Sciences: my creative digital skills with Adobe software, as well as the excellent communication skills that allow me to do presentations in front of my team and host student events with over forty participants. In addition to my creative roles, I have also been able to pursue my interest in politics and public service through a parliamentary internship with the John Smith Centre which meant I could advance my passion for communication and research in a political context. This role also allowed me to develop my professional conduct in meetings, as well as my time-management, research and social skills. It was a fantastic insight into what a career in politics or the civil service may be like.
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