Angelina L’s UCL Archeology Offer: A Dream Solidified

Angelina L, a gifted Year 13 Dulwich International High School Suzhou student, has recently received an offer to study Archeology at UCL!

Discovering your Passion

It is often said that if you can find a job that you love, you will never have to work a day in your life. During the interview with Angelina, it very rapidly became apparent that she has a genuine passion for Archaeology. The seeds for her love of Archaeology were planted in Year 10, when Angelina watched a documentary about Egyptology, which she found deeply fascinating. She then watched some YouTubers talking about Archaeology and artifacts. 

“My parents don't mind what I study. They think that life is short, and that you should do whatever you want.”

Egyptology the doorway to Archaeology

Egyptologist’s study all aspects of ancient Egypt, across time periods from about 7,000 BC to the early Middle Ages. They work from many perspectives, using different approaches and methods ranging all the way from literary theory in the humanities, to hard sciences in the physics of radiocarbon dating. They are active as academics, archeologists, researchers, and museum curators, and they communicate their work as widely as they can. No two Egyptologists have the same interests and focuses.

“I like Egyptology and it’s the area of Archeology that I know the most about, but I'm not sure if I will continue to study it. Archeology is such a vast subject, but Egyptology is perhaps the most well-known part of it.”

Angelina explained how she finds the way that Archeology is represented in popular culture, is hilariously ill-conceived and far removed from reality. 

Choosing UCL

Angelina explained that she only ever considered going to university in the UK. 

“For UK universities, location really matters, apart from learning, you are also learning how to live and develop independence. I think London is a nice location for this. Also, my best friend, (who graduated from Dulwich) is currently studying psychology at UCL.” 

The UCL Institute of Archaeology is one of the largest centers for archaeology, cultural heritage, and museum studies in the whole of the United Kingdom. Founded in 1937, its staff and students actively pursue research on a global scale in the archaeological sciences, heritage studies and world archaeology. 

Flowers for Algernon

Angelina told us that one of her favorite novels is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. 

Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction novel first published in 1966. The novel is based around a Hugo award-winning short story. However, the novel itself went on to win the Nebula Science Fiction award and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film called Charly in 1968. Flowers for Algernon is frequently included in many lists of the one hundred best science fiction novels ever written. You can click here to read a review of Flowers for Algernon on our official school website. 

Angelina explained that “I really like this book. When I was first learning English, my English Teacher recommended it to me. It’s a powerful book about humanity.”

Meet Angelina’s Pet Parrot Laladon

Angelina is an animal lover and enjoys looking after her pet cockatiel parrot Laladon, who she clearly adores. Parrots make brilliant pets to the right owners, due to their keen intelligence and desire for social interaction with people. Many parrots are highly affectionate, even cuddly with people they trust, and constantly require a lot of attention from their owners. It is clear to see from the photos that Angelina provided, that Laladon is an incredibly special little bird. Angelina explained that Laladon can even speak his own name!

Angelina is a big advocate of the educational power of YouTube. “There are a lot of educational YouTube channels.” Angelina believes that with YouTube if you follow the right people, you can get a lot out of the experience. Watching videos in English is also a good way of helping to enhance and develop language skills. 

How Dulwich Helped

Angelina had some interesting insights into how Dulwich had helped her to become a better university applicant:

“To be honest, I find that most of my peers at Dulwich are aiming high, striving to get places at top international universities. In other schools I had attended, my peers just wanted to go back to their hometowns. Dulwich pushes me more, it is a more competitive environment, where everyone is driving in the same direction of achievement. The Teachers are extremely supportive and responsible.”

Richard Nunns

Several times during the interview, Angelina returned to the impact that her university counselor had had on her successful application to UCL. Angelina’s counselor is none other than Richard Nunns, the Deputy Director of Dulwich International High School Suzhou.

As Angelina explained. “The school counseling department was really important for my application. Mr. Nunns is really nice. He’s a little bit strict but watches the deadlines carefully! If I didn’t complete a task, he would chase me on Teams, and I’d end up feeling really guilty and do it as soon as possible! Mr. Nunns gave me lots of suggestions and I really appreciated his help. But what I like most about Mr. Nunns is his kindness.”

Advice for our younger students

“By year 11 I was certain that I wanted to study archeology. I had enough time to prepare and study extracurricular material about the subject. Try more things and find out what you want to do as early as you can. If you decide on your major early you will have more time to prepare for it, which will make you a stronger applicant. ”