I study BA (Hons) Economics and Politics, so here’s how I decided to choose this subject.

Growing up, I never really knew what I wanted to be when I was older. I was quite good at most subjects at school, so there was no obvious path for me to choose when it came to GCSE and A Level subjects.

I knew that I loved to write, so I chose A Level English Language and Literature; and I was very interested in Economics, so I chose that too. I chose Geography as my third A Level choice because the human side of it interested me – how management can affect people’s lives.

Choosing Economics for one of my A Level choices was a bit of a risk, as I’d never studied anything similar to it before, and most people who also studied it had done GCSE Business Studies, but I fell in love with it. I loved being able to sit down with the Sunday paper and read behind the headlines: if there was an article about interest rates, I knew why they’d risen or fallen – this sparked my interest to study economics further.

The reason I wanted to combine economics and politics at uni was because of Brexit. I was 16 when the Brexit vote happened, and I vividly remember the frustration I felt, as I had a well formulated opinion, but could not vote on a decision that will affect me for the rest of my working life. I wrote emails to various family members, trying to persuade them to vote with the futures of my generation in mind, and I read every article possible on the vote. I remember watching the vote until 6am with my Dad, when they announced that we’d voted to leave, and I remember wishing I could have had a say. I wanted to study politics so that I could maybe be part of future decisions, or at least understand them, as I believe these skills will be very important when it comes to dealing with the impact of Brexit.

I’m so glad I chose my degree subject, because the more I’ve learned, the more relevant it’s become. The skills I’ve obtained from Economics will help me further on in life… at least I’ll know how to do my taxes! I think that what I’ve learned from politics will be useful in getting a job after I graduate, because I think having knowledge on the rocky political climate will be something that a company would be looking for as an extra – as Brexit will affect every company in the UK.