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“When I was younger, I always wanted to be a TV presenter like Ant and Dec,” says Andrew Maud, a president of the students’ Medical Society. “I’m from Leeds so I’ve not moved far, partly to keep my mother happy but mainly because why would anyone want to leave the beautiful people of Yorkshire!”

“I’ve always loved learning and was drawn towards science subjects in school”, he says, explaining why he chose to study medicine at university. “I knew I wanted to work with people, doing a job that really meant something, something that was ever-changing and new. I also love travelling, so I wanted to earn a degree that I could take anywhere in the world with me and nothing seems more transferrable than understanding disease and treating people.”

Andrew visited a few universities before deciding where to study. “I realised pretty early on in visiting universities that often the facilities everywhere are brilliant, that the course structure everywhere was fairly similar and that the lecturers were all ‘world-class’. So a major part of my decision was based on the student experience and the city itself.”

“��«Ӱҵ has such an amazing student life, from sports to societies, busy city nightlife to walks in the peaks - it seemed so diverse and vibrant. I spoke to students on open days and everyone just seemed so friendly. It’s a really safe city with a great community feel.”

“I absolutely loved doing full-body anatomy dissection,” he recalls. “I can’t imagine learning it any other way. It’s really hands-on, supervised by anatomy experts and students learn as part of a team so you’re all sharing this learning experience together. I’m a lot more confident going into surgery knowing that I’ve seen, felt and dissected a real body in practice first rather than looking at plastic models or diagrams. It’s just a lot more interactive and practical, which is my kind of learning!”

“One of the best things about ��«Ӱҵ is that we get to be involved with patients right from the get-go. From first year going into GP practices to a project attached to a patient in the community, we’re thrown in at the deep end which is the best way to learn! I feel so proud that ��«Ӱҵ is training me to be a doctor where the patient is at the heart of everything I learn, a doctor that sees patients as people - for me that’s true medicine.”