Eszter Arany (U18) is a medical student with a particular interest in neuroscience going into her third year at Churchill. Originally from Hungary, Eszter grew up in a small town called Siófok and attended a state school before coming to the UK to begin her medical studies.
Eszter has been supported with a full Cambridge Bursary since coming to Churchill and also received support in her first year to cover the cost of accommodation in the Easter holidays, to enable her to stay in College to study. She has also been awarded the Susan Lim Bursary.
I would simply not have been able to study here without help from the College, for which I am really grateful. Since my parents cannot support me to pay for all my expenses I was quite worried about the financial side of my studies. Receiving these bursaries has meant that I have been able to focus all my energies on studying for my degree without having to worry constantly about money.
Receiving bursary support has also enabled Eszter to develop her particular interest in neuroscience by undertaking a research internship in the field:
My main interest is neuroscience –it is really amazing how our brain is wired up and is in control of everything we do or feel. I fell in love with this course so much that I decided to do an internship at UCL in behavioural science to get more involved with research in this field. Without the bursary funding I would have had to spend all my holidays working to save money for my stay in Cambridge and had no chance to take on internships and get involved in research.
Eszter praises Churchill for being an extremely welcoming, supportive place where she has made great friends from all over the world. As well as rowing, Eszter is also a talented dancer – she dances acrobatic rock and roll – and she and her partner are currently preparing to take part in the national dance competition in Blackpool.
Eszter spent the lockdown in Cambridge and used the time to complete an online course in computational neuroscience on Coursera and improve her programming skills in Python. She also completed the theoretical part of the Home Office personal licence course for rodents and exercised every day in the little garden in her neighbourhood to help stay focused. The College was really supportive throughout this challenging period and she kept in regular touch with both her tutor and DoS; ‘they made sure everything was okay with us and I could contact them with any kinds of concerns.’
Looking to the future, Eszter wants to work as a practising doctor but she is also very interested in research and hopes to complete a PhD in behavioural neuroscience and combine an academic carrier with hospital work. For the time-being she is very thankful for the support she has received in helping her achieve her aims!
A lot of people would not believe how much difference even a little support can make for someone in need. The generosity of donors has helped me study the subject I love and inspired me to make the world a better place through scientific research.