Sheena Au Yeung BSc Psychology 2009, MSc Research Methods 2010, PhD Psychology 2015
Assistant Psychologist at North East London NHS Foundation Trust
Hi, I'm Sheena Au Yeung and I studied BSc Psychology within Psychology at the University of Southampton.
In Psychology, there is a strong sense of community and I can always count on my fellow students, colleagues, researchers and lecturers for help.
Q: Why did you choose to undertake your studies at the University of Southampton?
In the quest for independence from family and better career prospects, I decided to leave my home city of Hong Kong to study in the UK during my secondary school years. With English being my second language, I have always struggled with my grammar, even to this day. However, I never let it become an excuse for me to not perform well; in fact, it became a driving force for me to excel in academia. I was determined to show everyone that even with a language disadvantage I was still capable of achieving what a native student could achieve, and more.
I applied for the undergraduate psychology course at Southampton. I knew that this course was accredited with the British Psychological Society and that was important to me. Southampton University also has a good reputation in terms of sport and that is one of my passions. I didn’t do psychology A-level in sixth form so I had to learn the basic concepts and take in all the new vocabulary from scratch.
Q: What have you achieved as a result of studying here?
I often questioned whether or not I had chosen the right path, but coming to Southampton turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made. I have always been interested in special populations and I knew that I wanted my work to make a difference in someone’s life. Fortunately, I was blessed with an amazing supervisor in my third year, and through her guidance, I carried out my final year project on Eye movements and Autism.
On my graduation day, I was awarded the Blossom Galinski prize for the best Literature Review, and the results of the project were presented at the 15th European Conference for Eye Movements in the summer of 2009. Completing the undergraduate programme was worthwhile as it opened up new doors for me. I was offered research assistant work from my supervisor and I was encouraged to take on the research masters programme in Psychology to further pursue my research interest.
Q: What did you enjoy about the course?
The undergraduate and postgraduate courses have challenged me intellectually. However, help was always available when I needed it. In Psychology, there is a strong sense of community and I can always count on my fellow students, colleagues, researchers and lecturers for help, advice and even a shoulder to cry on when I’m stressed out! I also made use of the University’s mentoring service and they arranged a mentor to meet up with me once a week to offer guidance in managing my workload during my second year.
Q: How did you find the overall student experience?
One of the best things about studying at Southampton is that you are not expected to just study; I also enjoyed myself outside of academia! I was part of the university Taekwondo club. Often our team travel across the UK to training camps and competitions where I got to see different places and met many new friends from diverse ethnic backgrounds who shared the same interest as me. Last year, I even went on a Taekwondo trip to Korea for three weeks, which was sponsored by the university club.
Q: Do you have any advice for future students?
It is at the University of Southampton where I am given the opportunity to shine. This of course didn’t come without hard work. If you are thinking of doing psychology here, be prepared that your intellectual ability and willpower will be stretched. But remember, the key to success is to never give up, and you will definitely be rewarded. Oh, and don’t forget to have fun!