Name: Ross
Hometown: Penzance
Course: HND Applied Psychology
Next Steps: Final year studying BA (Hons) Human Behavioural Studies at Penwith and then Clinical Psychologist in NHS
My Story
Before studying Psychology at Penwith College, Ross didn’t know the vast array of career opportunities available in the sector. Ross found that through studying the course, it has opened a plethora of opportunities for him to explore psychology.
“I didn’t realise how far psychology can take you. You can work in the military, data analysis, marketing, business or even go into the police force as a detective, so there’s loads of different ways it can go.”
Ross’ passion for psychology presented itself after working in housing at Live West. Through his job, Ross was dealing with antisocial behaviour cases that involved psychologists to assess the housing situations and provide his team with the knowledge and resources to offer the best course of action to individuals dealing with complex issues. The important role the psychologists played in offering people the help they needed had inspired Ross to follow a similar career path. Ross then spent a couple of years researching psychology in his spare time, which then prompted his application to Penwith College to the Applied Psychology degree.
He is thoroughly enjoying his course so far, achieving a First for his second year, and he is looking forward to completing the full degree after his top-up year studying BA (Hons) Human Behavioural Studies.
Reflecting on his time studying Applied Psychology, Ross said: “My favourite part has been learning how to research properly, not just through Googling stuff but actual research by peer reviewed studies. I’ve also enjoyed data analysis, and I didn’t realise maths was so involved with psychology.
“My group project that we did this year has been my favourite part of the course. It involved experimenting whether green space has a positive impact on mental wellbeing. We narrowed it down to short experiences in green spaces and we had some interesting results.”
Ross enjoyed the whole process, from starting with an idea, to researching the information, carrying out the experiments and calculating the results. His group project involved working with a group of A Level students who went for a 5-minute walk around the green spaces at Penwith campus. They completed a questionnaire before and after and in all cases, the mental wellbeing score had increased.
Ross felt that Penwith College offered the flexibility he needed whilst offering a high-quality course that ensured he can secure a career in psychology: “I wanted to go to uni, I needed a degree to get to where I want to go, but I was worried about going from a well-paid career to being a student again. I also can’t travel because I’ve got two young kids.
“[Studying at Penwith] works well, it’s a good balance between coming in but still being able to do your own things. The timetable has been a perfect balance between coming in to get tutor support but also having structure for my two girls so I can do the school runs.”
Once he has graduated with his degree at Penwith College, Ross intends to study a Masters, either through the Open University or funded through future employment. Ross is now working towards gaining a career in Clinical Psychology in the NHS.
