‘Moving away from home wasn’t easy but now I’m a student ambassador’
IT was second time lucky for Stephenie Brophy Lee when she found herself in a course that wasn’t for her. With an impressive Leaving Cert of 525 points, the 21-year-old Limerick girl felt she had too many options and found herself unsure about her CAO choices. Starting a course in pharmaceuticals and chemistry, she realised half-way through that she preferred the physics element to her course.
After a lot of research, the past pupil of John the Baptist, Hospital, Co Limerick, applied to transfer into second year of the BSc in Physics with Astronomy in DCU.
The four-year course gives students the opportunity to work with astronomical data from a variety of telescopes and observatories worldwide. Over the course of the degree, there is an emphasis on laboratory and project work, as well as teaching students valuable IT skills.
In third year, students also have the chance to take a five-day field trip to a foreign observatory or opt to work in the industry or in a research group as part of the INTRA placement programme in DCU.
Meeting the course director, Stephenie was told that the year in her first course fortunately equated to a year in DCU’s general science course, and passing her exams would grant her access to second year in the university.
Securing the grades, Stephenie moved up to Dublin the following September and made the transition to living away from home for the first time.
“I was living at home originally and moving was a massive change. I was suddenly out by myself and no one from my school was in DCU. However, I overcame it and now I’m a student ambassador,” says Stephenie.
Stephenie is now entering her final year in DCU and thinks that taking the “rocky road” has only been beneficial to her.
While there have been times when Stephenie has questioned whether her decision was the right one, ultimately, she is glad she chose to transfer.
By chance, Stephenie had the opportunity to complete both the field trip and the work placement in third year, something she says has given her a new perspective on her career prospects.
“I was lucky to have the field trip and relevant work experience — it was two for the price of one really!” says Stephenie.
“Going to Geneva and Ferne for the field trip was a great week for a physics student. We visited the ISDC Data Centre for Astrophysics in Geneva and we got to analyse data from satellites, and although we didn’t see any new planets coming in on the system, that’s the kind of thing they do there.”
Stephenie isn’t sure where she will go next when she finishes her degree, with the option of a Masters or a PhD down the line. However, she feels really motivated entering her final year and says that while it isn’t easy to just drop everything and switch courses like she did, it can certainly turn out to be a truly positive experience.