Jamelia Harris BSc Economics with Actuarial Science, 2011

Economist for the Ministry of Finance

Hi, I'm Jamelia Harris and I studied BSc Economics with Actuarial Science within Social Sciences: Economics at the University of Southampton.

The students, staff and academic programme all make it worthwhile; and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Why were you attracted to the University of Southampton?

I was attracted to the University of Southampton mainly because of the programme. At A Levels I studied Economics, Mathematics and Accounting so I felt that studying Actuarial Science was a natural progression. At the same time, I wanted to enrol in a joint honours programme to allow myself some flexibility in the job market. Southampton provided this. More so, the degree is structured in such a way that students can earn up to eight exemptions from the CT exams. From a non-academic standpoint, I thought that Southampton would be less cold being in the South, so as a Caribbean student, this was a consideration.

Would you recommend the course and the University? If so, why?

The first reason why I recommend the course would be what I outlined above, i.e. the programme itself and the structure. Apart from this, I especially like the campus, the city of Southampton and the student life. As a campus university, students benefit from having everything centrally located. The city itself is not as big as London, but not too small to be uneventful; in my opinion the right mix. My personal favourite would be the mix of students and the network of friends one can develop. Southampton is very international, offering the change to interact with students and lecturers from all over the world and truly appreciate different cultures.

Overall, I think coming to Southampton is one of the best decisions I've made. I completely enjoyed my time there. The students, staff and academic programme all make it worthwhile; and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

What have you done since leaving?

Since leaving the University I completed my MSc at LSE. I then moved to Sierra Leone in 2012 to commence working as an Economist for the Ministry of Finance in their Public Debt Management Unit, the job-description is incredible.