Skip to main content
Hub

My life as a Maths Ambassador

Current student Nia shares her experience as a Student Ambassador in the School of Mathematical Sciences.

There are many part-time work opportunities available at Queen Mary, some of which are even right on your doorstep at campus. However, the School of Mathematical Sciences has part-time roles for all its students, both undergraduate and postgraduate. In this blog post, I’ll tell you the story of my life as a Maths Ambassador and give you some general advice on part-time work at university.

The application process

I first became aware of this role when staff from the Maths Outreach team came in to our lectures at the end of the first week of term to encourage us to apply. The role very much appealed to me from there (for reasons that will be highlighted later on!) and so I applied online immediately after. A couple of days later, I received an email telling me that I had been shortlisted for group interviews, which I was both excited and nervous about, seeing as up until then I had never done group interviews before. Around a week after that, I was blessed with the news that I had finally become a maths ambassador! 

My role

When I’m working as a maths ambassador, it’s fair to say that no two days are ever the same. Depending on the type of event you’re working on, your duties as an ambassador can vary immensely. However, some general responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

  • Supporting events held at university – offer-holder days, open days, taster days, summer schools etc.
  • Giving campus tours to prospective students and talk about your experiences as a maths student.
  • Represent QMUL off campus and at UCAS and Higher Education fairs.

The role is paid with flexible hours, meaning that ambassadors can choose when they want to work. This allows us to fit our work in around our studies and ensure that we are not missing lectures or tutorials because of work!

What do I love about my job?

In all honesty, I love absolutely everything about being a Maths Ambassador, but as I mentioned before, the role did appeal to me for many reasons. Firstly, I knew that being a Maths Ambassador would give me the opportunity to meet new people, not just within QMUL but also young people from schools around East London, and being able to encourage them to study maths at university and talk about my experiences as a maths student is something that I still enjoy to this day. Secondly, being an ambassador for the School of Maths pushes me to take on new challenges and different levels of responsibility, and through this I can develop my transferable skills such as communication, leadership and teamwork. I have definitely grown as an individual since starting out as an ambassador! 

General advice about part-time work at Queen Mary

  • Try and look for jobs on campus – the Students’ Union regularly advertises roles on their website, and other academic departments as well as Mathematical Sciences offer the role of student ambassador. Looking for a job on campus will give you the flexibility of fitting in work around your lectures and classes. 
  • Don't let your job affect your education! Whilst having a part-time job at university is a great way to grab some extra income or boost your CV, it is important to remember that (in most cases) the reason you came to university in the first place is to get a degree. Nothing should come in the way of this, i.e. it is not a good idea to be skipping lectures for extra shifts at work.
  • Whatever job you choose to take on, enjoy it! 

Hopefully, you now have an in-depth insight into one of the many part-time roles that Queen Mary has to offer, or at least a brief exploration of working part-time whilst studying at university.

If you have any questions or want to find out more, ask me on Unibuddy. For new and upcoming maths students, I hope to see many of you applying to become Maths Ambassadors this academic year! 

By Nia Patel, current student in BSc Mathematics with Finance and Accounting

Back to top