At Wyke, we are always happy to hear from our former students. We caught up with Tom Bolton, who has just completed his Master’s in Engineering at the University of Sheffield, to find out his highlights of Wyke, and the challenges and rewards of university life.What are your best memories of Wyke? “I played in the football team at Wyke and absolutely loved it. We won the national cup with Nick Barmby and Michal Pujdak- training twice a week and playing every Wednesday at a good standard was such a fun part of college.I’d also say meeting new people was such an important part. Most of my best mates now I didn’t know before going to Wyke. Finally, obviously Sports Pres was always a class night, Mark Lucid always smashed it.”How did your Wyke studies help space your future? “Uni exams would be a big shock to the system. It really helps you prepare for having to put the hours in. The careers team at Wyke were great at helping me decide what path to go down when I was unsure and I’m really grateful to them for that.”What advice would you give our current students? “I would say make sure you put the work in at exam time and it will be worth it.Also, if you’re choosing to go to Uni don’t take the easy option and follow where your mates are going. Go where you want to go and do your own thing.” Describe your time at University of Sheffield? “The best 4 years of my life hands down. Getting to halls in first year was daunting- I didn’t know anybody going to Sheffield and I wanted it to be like that. But it turns out first year is just about finding your feet and having a massive socialise without many troubles so it’s absolutely class.I did Mechanical Engineering so I had to work hard around exam time, it’s a tough course so you do have to put the hours in when it matters. I was worried starting the course that I wouldn’t be able to cope. However, it isn’t as scary as you think, you will be able to cope and do other things. The step up from college to Uni is tough but you adjust quickly.You’re obviously at Uni to get a good mark in your degree, but it's so important to have a good time. There are so many quality places to go out in Sheffield, house parties, beautiful parks everywhere and the Peak District round the corner. Amazing Uni and city I couldn’t fault it and can only recommend it from my time here.I also played in the men’s football team throughout my time there, called SUMFC. It’s a good standard, training once a week and playing once a week. The best part about it though is the socials, they’re so much fun and a great opportunity to meet a lot of lads similar to you.”Discuss your future plans and potential career pathway “I’m staying in Sheffield for the summer but have plans to move to Manchester to find a job. I’m going to be applying for jobs in the Medical Device sector or related to biomechanics as that’s what I ended up specialising in and did my dissertation on. I’ll look to become a chartered engineer within the next 5 years.”
