Student Profiles
Astrid Elias-Mexico
Astrid Elias became the first person in ten years to gain a First Class BA (Hons) degree in International Business from UCLan.
Originally from Cordoba in Mexico, Astrid joined the course in its third year as part of a five year course involving study both at UCLan and in Mexico that will credit her with two degree qualifications.
She returns to Mexico in September 2006 to complete her final year in Tec de Monterrey and will also gain a BA (Hons) Marketing from there.
Attractive
Astrid said: "I chose UCLan because it has a good relationship with my university in Mexico and obviously having a double degree is attractive to potential employers."
She embraced life in Preston and feels she got a lot out of her time here. She was involved in the university's dance club, football team, Spanish speaking society and Catholic society and says this was a great way to meet new people.
"I met lots of friends and clubs and societies made this much easier to meet British people as well as other international students," she said.
Local school
She was also asked to go into a local school to talk about life in Mexico and answer questions from the children, and once she even took over the teaching of her dance class.
Astrid said: "The teacher couldn't make it so I took over for a lesson. I had never taught dance in a foreign language before but I really enjoyed it."
Astrid has considered working in marketing in her home country after she finishes her studies next year but would also consider doing another degree part time in the future. She said she would definitely recommend studying abroad at UCLan to other international students.
She added: "I've enjoyed meeting new people and England has a good worldwide reputation for education so having a degree from the UK is advantageous."
