In this lighthearted article, UL International Student Zequi Adams uses some of his favourite songs to express how he feels about our university. (Playing the music while reading the article is highly recommended!)

Mario Vazquez – Gallery

‘’Ooh yeah
God broke the mold,
When he made this one, I know
She’s breathtaking but so much more
She walks in the room, your lungs closed
Making you never want to breathe again…….’’

To those who’ve heard this song, you definitely know where I’m going with this. The UL campus is beautiful. Not a McLaren or Van-Gogh type beautiful but imagine if Van-Gogh painted a McLaren in 2020 with all the graciousness of its curves. Yes, it’s that beautiful!

I get a lot questions regarding what I think is the most salient feature of the UL campus. My answer almost always is ‘The Living Bridge’. I take random walks on the Living Bridge at night just to soak in the discotheque-ish lights and breeze from the water beneath. It’s absolutely breathtaking. As someone especially partial to nature and all it has to offer (and for green world advocates), I love the fact that for every modern building put up, I notice 10 more natural things that make up for the concrete buildings.

Lucky Dube – Different Colors

“Some were from America

We were from South Africa

Some were from Japan

We were from China

Some were from Australia

We were from the U.K.

Some were from Zimbabwe

We were from Ghana ….’’

Coming to Ireland during this hectic period of Covid-19 was really stressful for me especially due to the uncertainty involved and how different it turned out from how I initially perceived it would. Without help from colleagues, housemates and staff from all over the world, it would have turned out much worse. I’ve met, lived with, interacted and studied with people from all over the world (South America, Asia, North America and Africa) and these people have helped immensely in various ways to make my study in UL a successful one. I have no doubts that these relationships I have cultivated will be maintained even after I graduate from UL. Meeting and interacting with these people wouldn’t be possible without the UL staff who had to painstakingly find ways of bringing everyone together virtually during this period.

Fabolous ft. Ne-Yo – Make Me Better 

“I’m a movement by myself (oh)
But I’m a force when we’re together
Mami I’m good all by myself (oh)
But baby you, you make me better (you make me better)
You make me better (you make me better)
You make me better (you make me better)
You make me better (you make me better)
You make me better….’’

So, like you guessed from the song, as someone who came from an actuarial science background to mathematics one, I had a lot of doubts about my ability to keep up with the course. Coupled with the climate we are in now, I knew it would be extremely difficult for me to keep up. Not just speaking for my course specifically, I noticed that the UL academic department had overhauled it’s whole program to accommodate students with regards to Covid-19.

I can’t speak for many schools but UL’s academic department overhaul efforts made a huge difference in my getting through the semester. I shudder to think of how I would have been able to cope if these measures weren’t in place. At the end of the semester, I can confidently say I’m much more knowledgeable than when I came in.

Wiz Khalifa – Work Hard, Play Hard

Work hard, play hard
Work hard, play hard
Work hard, play hard
Work hard, play hard
Work, work
Work, work
Work, work
Work, work (Uh)

Ok! So ordinarily you’d wonder, how would anyone survive quarantine in grad school? I wondered same too but in UL, it’s almost like there wasn’t a quarantine. Take everything done during normal times on campus, virtualize it and add more interesting twists, that is what UL provides.

I’m usually eager to receive those emails from the Postgrad Union on what events we’d be having during the week. Regular workouts (HIIT Classes), counselling sessions, Tai Chi training, movies nights (with prize raffles),departmental seminars, you name it! There are a wide range of activities to undertake while in quarantine that leave you feeling like there’s nothing missing from normal times. 

By Zequi Adams