CymraegStudent Comments
Oliver Owen
BA in Welsh
"
I was fortunate enough to get a job straight after graduating. I worked as a subtitler in Cardiff for a company called Acen.
The Welsh Department at Lampeter is unique because you can study subtitling there as part of your degree and gain a professional qualification examined by S4C. As well as learning how to subtitle and use the latest equipment, I also gained work experience working for a subtitling company during the holidays while I was at University. This was all arranged by the Department and it was an invaluable experience.
I really enjoyed my time at Lampeter. The Department is small and friendly and the staff are always prepared to help students. I’m from Gelli in the Rhondda originally and won a scholarship to come and study Welsh at Lampeter. This was a great help when it came to buying books and it also helped with some of the living costs in the first year.
Some of my favourite parts of the course were studying dialectology – doing fieldwork and recording people from different areas speaking Welsh – and studying contemporary literature. While I was a student at Lampeter, I was employed as an interpreter during meetings at the Students’ Union. This was a good opportunity to meet people and I became interested in politics as well during my time at University. I’ve got lots of friends in Lampeter and I often go back to see them".
Francesca Dimech
BA Joint Honours in Welsh Studies and Media Studies
"I enjoyed being in University at Lampeter so much that I decided to stay on for another year. Having graduated with a BA Joint Honours in Welsh Studies and Media Studies, I was elected Deputy President (Entertainment and Publicity) at the Students’ Union. It’s a full time job and I really love the work. I’m looking forward to attracting lots of Welsh bands to Lampeter this year.
There are all sorts of interesting societies at the Union too, e.g. fencing, horse riding, women’s rugby, Kung-Fu, battle re-enactment etc. I’ve had a great social life in Lampeter. I play the guitar and accordion in a band called ‘Sleepyhouse’. I met these friends at University and we’ve had great fun during our time here: we won a ‘Demo of the Month’ competition on BBC Radio Oxford and we’ve appeared in lots of rock and music magazines. It’s really easy to make friends at Lampeter. Everyone is really friendly and there’s a good relationship between the University and the town.
It’s a great place to learn Welsh, because you can use your Welsh naturally in the town and on the campus. I’m from a non- Welsh-speaking background: my family live in Penarth, but we are of Italian origin originally. The Welsh Studies degree is a great choice for anyone wishing to learn Welsh, whatever their family background, and it also gives you the opportunity to study Welsh history and literature. My favourite part of the course was reading medieval poetry – such as the work of Dafydd ap Gwilym – and studying the social history of Wales. I use Welsh everyday in work now, as well as in town, and I’m really glad that I chose to come to Lampeter.