Rebecca Rodney BSc Economics, 2016
Commercial and Private Banking Graduate at RBS Group
While I was here I was really involved in Enactus society, so I joined two of their projects and actually ended up running one of their enterprises in Kenya
Why did you choose to study at Southampton?
Well, there are so many unis but I chose to come to Southampton because I really liked the course here. It’s really common for Economics courses to be solely focused on the maths, and here there’s a really nice balance between the maths and the theory and that really appealed to me.
Was there anything that you particularly enjoyed about the course?
What I really enjoyed about my course was the fact that you could customise it, and we had a really nice variety of optional modules that we could pick, which were from within Economics and also across disciplines as well. I got to do modules in International Relations and I also got to learn a bit of Mandarin, it was really fab! One of my favourite modules was a second-year module called Development Economics; it was just so completely different to everything else that we studied.
Did you take part in any extracurricular activities during your time here?
While I was here I was really involved in Enactus society, so I joined two of their projects and actually ended up running one of their enterprises in Kenya – a sanitation project called SanEco - which was amazing! We provided reusable sanitary towels, waste-convertible natural soap, and we taught people in the community to produce all these items themselves, with the aim being for them to then set up their own businesses. SanEco was actually presented at the Enactus World Cup, and we ended up winning! That was a really proud moment. During my second year I did an internship with the Royal Bank of Scotland, I was part of their commercial banking internship scheme, and I also took part in the IBM Business Innovation programme which is run by the University.
What are your plans for the future?
My plans are to join the RBS commercial banking graduate scheme in September. Following my internship they offered me a place on the rotation, so I’m really looking forward to starting that.
Do you have any advice for prospective students?
If you are thinking of coming to Southampton to study then look at absolutely everything, don’t just think about the course, think about the fact that it’s campus and city, and that there are so many extra-curricular activities that you can get involved in, it really does have the whole package.