Vox-Pop: Where do you see yourself in 5 Years?

by Tudor Georgescu, Year 12

I would like to start this article by defining what a Vox-Pop is. A Vox-Pop is an article written around a question that is asked to random people, in this case the students of IBSB, with the answers from several students collected and the article then written around their responses.

For this article, the question was “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”, and whilst this question was more focused on the older students in their last years at IBSB, the younger students still had a voice.

Many of the older students talked about what universities they want to go to, and the courses they want to do, which varied from Medicine and Engineering to Arts and Film. Many of the students want to go into Medicine or Engineering of different kinds. For Medicine, some want to do Oncology, which supports patients with cancer. Another student said that they want to study Veterinarian Science, because they are passionate about animals and want to dedicate their lives to helping them, whilst several other students want to go into more common fields like Pediatrics and Surgery. For Engineering, which was the second most common carer mentioned, many students want to study fields such as Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, with a few wanting to go into more exotic fields, such as Aerospace Engineering or Sound Engineering.

Regarding the countries where the students want study in the future, the most common answer is the UK, followed by the Netherlands, which have many of the world’s best Universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, which are in the top for the STEM subjects, as well as humanities and social sciences. The Netherlands offers courses in all subjects, but is perhaps best known for its Engineering Universities, including TU-Delft, which has one of the best Nautical Engineering and Aerospace departments, and Eindhoven, which is at the top for Chemical and Mechanical Engineering. In addition to these two countries, other students talked about Bocconi University in Italy for Economics and Business Mangement, and Marangoni Fashion Institute in Milan, IE in Spain, again for Business, and the Political Sciences or Engineering in Israel. Of Course, the United States was also brought up, but many of the students chose Europe over the US due to the travel distance and lower cost of tuition.

In addition to their future in school and education, we also asked the students about their social life, which they all unanimously said that want to expand on in the future. Some of the students brought up that they want to get better at their hobbies, such as Guitar, Gardening, or Debate which many students brought up. Other hobbies included rock climbing, gymnastics, and Volleyball which one student is very passionate about and hopes to get a sports scholarship within it in the US. Most of the students also said that they want to meet new people and make new friends with the same hobbies as them, which they hope to do in the future at their Universities.

Regarding the younger students, many focused on school and said they want to get better grades and focus more on their studies, thinking they have to decide what they want to pursue in their IGCSEs and future studies. Many also said they want to pursue Medicine and Humanities, such as Psychology or Arts and Drama. Many of them on the social side also said they want to get better at various sports, such as Football and Gymnastics, and among their hobbies, art and music. They all seemed to be excited about their future academically and socially and they were very optimistic, leaving a feeling that only good things will happen.

Overall, the students of IBSB seem to be excited about their futures and the next five years of their lives, which will pass much quicker than they all think. The students we interviewed also all had a good grasp on what they want to do and what they think they will be doing in five years, which was impressive. From future doctors and engineers to rockstars and lawmakers, IBSB is full of different people with different passions and dreams and this creates a great atmosphere in the school. Researching and writing this article was a great experience, as I really enjoyed talking with more students and finding out more about them.