Grace Field – An Oxford experience

Year 13 student Grace Field has returned from a two-week Academic Insights Summer School at Oxford University full of passion for the programme and the university’s 1000-year-old history.

Grace, who has studied global politics as part of the University of Auckland’s Young Scholars’ Programme, was awarded a scholarship to study international relations at Oxford with Immerse Education after submitting an essay in a global competition on the issues facing women in leadership positions.

Grace says she chose the topic for her entry in last year’s global Immerse Education Essay Competition because of the lingering regularity of the challenges faced by female leaders, as well as the need for continued awareness of the issues facing women at work. During her two-week stay at Oxford in July, she attended lectures and tutorials, and completed a personal project on the United States’ participation in the Afghanistan War.

She says one of the best parts of the course was the people she met.

“After the restrictions of COVID, it was refreshing to be able to catch up with people from all over the world, especially as we all had common interests in the programme,” says Grace. “Of course, staying in the beautiful colleges that held so much history was incredible as well.”

The course curriculum was the equivalent of an entire semester packed into two weeks, and while the workload was intense, Grace says her lecturers’ obvious passion for their subject matter helped make learning fun.

“International relations is something I’ve always been very passionate about, but I was unsure if I wanted to continue it through to university,” she says.

“The course gave me strong foundational knowledge, and its structure was very informative for what a university experience in the UK would be like.”

Grace, who is Dio Chess Captain, a Deputy Ethics Prefect, and leader of the Dio-Dilworth Big Band, is planning to do a law and commerce conjoint degree next year and is considering overseas study options, including UK universities.