Written by Chloe O’Keeffe Design by Monika Valentines can be seen as quite a fad of a holiday. Many would say it’s purely commercial. We’re just after rounding the corner from Christmas, and now we’ve to venture back into the shops for more gifts? Whatever your opinion, I think this year more than any year is the perfect time to start celebrating Valentines in some capacity. Honestly, we’ve been through enough, I’ll take a celebratory day, even if I’m single! With lockdowns i

Written by: Chloe Morgan. Photo by Ray Sangga Kusuma on Unsplash. Volunteering is a fantastic thing to do throughout your uni experience. It enables you to put your time to good use to help others, develop your interpersonal skills, and build experience working in different environments. Volunteering is fun, exciting and rewarding. It is also something great to put on your CV and enhances skills to help you in later life. Why get involved? There are so many reasons you should

Written by Molly Bolding COVID-19 is going nowhere fast. The pandemic has become one of the greatest public health crises in recent decades and its impact can be seen everywhere: lives put on hold, experiences lost, opportunities denied. Even now, with talk of a potential vaccine in the next twelve months, the reality of the changes that have already been made is setting in at universities across the UK. Both students and campuses have had to make huge adjustments on and off

Written by: Michelle Almeida. Picture by: Pixabay. Secondary school is an essential part of life. While it lays an academic foundation that guides you towards planning your future after basic education, it also teaches us that a secondary school atmosphere can be a toxic place to grow up in. This may be subjective but in comparison to university, you’ll find yourself in a much better environment once you begin your life on campus, and here’s why. You’re finally studying subje

Written by: Sarah Belger. Photo by: JEShoots from Pexel. Anyone else who chose their degree without any thoughts on future career prospects will understand the struggle of finding work experience while studying. How do you know where to start looking if you don’t what your end goal is? What kind of work experience is relevant for a career you’ve not even chosen yet? If this sounds like you, hopefully this article will give some tips to get you going! Finding experience direct

Words by Chloe O’Keeffe Starting University and moving to new towns and cities is a pretty hard thing to do in itself. Starting University comes with so many forms and applications to fill out. I’ll never forget when I started my undergrad- letters coming in through the door for me constantly, things to do and complete before I started my Orientation week. Undoubtedly, it’s heightened with a certain virus going around. My brother started University this year, and- though I kn

Written by: Katie Waits Design by: Ellen Stanton It’s that time of year again. A time of transition and change, especially for those just starting their university lives. Many people may have been looking forward to escaping school, leaving behind strict rules and uniforms. Others may find the thought of a change in routine absolutely terrifying. For everyone beginning university, especially nowadays, life will be very different compared to school, whether you move away or st

Written by Chloe Bayliss Illustration by Zoe Shields 2020 has not exactly been the year we all anticipated it to be. It has been one disaster after another, affecting people of all ages from all over the world. Unless you live under a rock, then you would have heard about the chaotic mess that has been the A level class of 2020. I have the honour of being part of this group essentially used as the lab rats for the government’s changes to the education system. From SAT’s, refo

By Rhianna Hurren-Myers, Deputy Editor in Chief of The Collective Magazine And just like that, life returned to normal. Shops opened their doors with “we’ve missed you” signage adorning their front windows. I was finally able to quench my Nandos craving. See my grandparents. Take a road trip. God forbid, go on holiday. It was as if COVID-19 had been nothing but a decadent, dystopian nightmare. Only, strangely, I don’t really feel like popping down to the local pub anymore. My

Written by: Chloe O’Keeffe Design by: Rachel Fitzjohn University in the midst of a pandemic is going to be a trialling period of time. Many countries and cities around the globe are still remaining in lockdown, which will make it very difficult for students to travel in and out of University daily/ weekly. Nevertheless, with Covid19 being in Ireland for at least six months, the Irish government have decided that now is the time where the people of Ireland have to begin learni

Written by: Mia Whelan Design by: Aimee Lee Starting University can undoubtedly be one of the most daunting experiences of your adult life; moving cities coupled with leaving home for the first time (in most instances) is reason enough to induce serious anxiety for many young adults. Despite having cousins and siblings who have gone through the same process as me, I never felt anyone could relate to the struggles I faced during Freshers week. This article is aimed at incoming

Written by: Ellie Smith Design by: Aimee Lee I should have spent ninety weeks across three years studying for my degree on the University of York’s cosy green campus. I’ve physically attended the university – sat on its lawns, met with lecturers and engaged with seminars for around half of that time. My first year was plagued with strikes. I spent my second year studying abroad. My final year was thwarted by strikes (again), before the coronavirus hit and the summer term mov

Written by: Áine O’Neill Design by: Rachel Fitzjohn From the moment you enter the shiny new gates to higher education there is always one looming question you face, what will I do after graduation? Whilst there is an innate happiness surrounding this topic, there is also a colossal pressure. With so many options and such little time to decide, the graduating year of college can lead to severe pressure. The purpose of this article is to explore the options which hundreds of g

Written by Lydia Ruston Has your screen time increased to pretty much 8 hours a day during lockdown? Don’t worry, I think we’ve all been there. Whether people have been posting more on social media out of boredom or simply just for fun, popular platforms have been inundated with content. One thing I have noticed on social media, though, is the amount of posts being produced recently around the topic of positivity and productivity. Over the past few tough months, I have found

Written by Chloe O’Keeffe The year 2020 has been a crazy one, as an immediate repercussion of Covid-19. Everything and everyone has been affected by the global pandemic, and the world is ever-changing on a daily basis in a bid to try and live alongside this aggressive virus. The education sector is no different and has faced turbulent times across Europe and the World. Schools and Universities across Ireland and the United Kingdom were closed down at the end of March. The Iri