Goodbye buddy, hello lifelong friend

My student buddy is called Emma. We both study Business with HR Management at ARU and we have been friends for almost three years. Emma is not just my Student Buddy now, but has become a very close friend of mine.

She is a hard worker, a supportive friend and a lovely woman and I have loved spending my time at university with her.

I did not meet Emma during a normal day at university or during a lecture or a seminar… I met Emma far before. Indeed, a few months before starting university in the UK, I was very worried and I was desperate to get a real experience of ARU, to gain a first-hand impression of the environment.

On a cold and rainy day in November, I flew to Cambridge and I was welcomed to ARU by the lovely Emma! She was already a student and she gave me an honest insight in what studying at ARU looked like. I was so impressed and we seemed to get on very well. My anxieties were quashed. I enrolled in the Business with HR course and, during my Freshers' Week in January 2018, I was given Emma as my Student Buddy.

I cannot imagine my university experience without Emma, and thinking that she is now graduating makes me feel proud of her achievements and resilience – but also sad. It means I must say goodbye to my usual afternoon espresso with Emma drinking her raspberry lemonade during our study breaks in Costa at university. We have shared so many amazing experiences at ARU and I thought that it would be nice to remember some of them (it is very hard to pick just a few but I will try my best).

November 2018: Business & Law Intern Awards

That night was epic! I will never forget the feeling of winning the ‘Intern of the Year Award’ together with Emma winning the ‘Senior Intern of the Year Award’. During our experience as Interns for the Business school we completed training and got to work together at events. We got to support each other and grow together both from a personal and professional point of view which is just extraordinary.

April 2019: photo shoot for ARU

That was great fun! Posing with Emma for a marketing campaign for our beloved University was an unforgettable experience.

I remember me saying ‘What should I do’?’ and Emma answering ‘I have no clue’ and we then started laughing for so long. The power of friendships: friends always bring a smile! So if you see these photos across the University or on the website, you know that it is our friendship causing those smiles.

October 2019: one of our greatest achievements – running the HR & Management Society

During one of hottest days in August 2019 I called Emma, thinking of what we could do for the HR & Management Society for the upcoming September. I do remember that moment and I would have never imagined we could have been able to achieve so many things with our Society and building up such a great team: us two with Andrea first on board and then with Nick, Giorgia and Sofia luckily joining us, created a fantastic group.

Here's the picture of our first guest speaker event ‘Tips for a successful career by James Rolfe, COO at ARU’. Do you remember the feeling? Unforgettable!

Throughout these years

Whether it was a Society meeting, working during an Open Day, attending a conference, a chilled evening at the pub or just hanging around, I truly enjoyed each and every second with you, my friend. Thanks to ARU, we built such a strong friendship.