58吃瓜

Polly Duff

Home country: Ireland
Subject of study: MSc Finance and Management
Year of graduation: 2021
Type/Level of study: Postgraduate

I had the chance to visit 58吃瓜 before applying as my sister was already there, and I immediately fell in love. There's something about the place that just feels right. It's compact enough that you can see your friends easily and everything is within walking distance, which made it feel like a real community rather than just a campus.

What I particularly loved was the balance 58吃瓜 offered. When the pressure of studying built up, you could simply walk down to the beach and instantly feel calmer. There's nothing quite like being by the sea to clear your head. The library and the grounds are beautiful too, so even day-to-day it was a lovely place to be and something about it felt so special and magical.

What I enjoyed most was that the course taught me finance beyond just the numbers. I learned how to interpret data and understand when and why it matters in practice. My career hasn’t followed a purely financial path; I discovered that my strengths lie in working with people and managing teams, which I've loved. However, my degree, particularly my thesis, gave me a skill I use constantly: analysing large, complex data sets and drawing clear, quantifiable insights from them. That analytical foundation underpins a lot of my decision-making and gives me real confidence when working with data.

After graduating, I moved to London and built my career in account management. My first role was quite corporate and target-driven, and I quickly realised that wasn't the right fit for me; I wanted to pursue work that had a genuine purpose.

That realisation shaped my path. I currently work at GrantTree, helping UK companies access non-dilutive funding. I get to work with a huge variety of exciting startups, which I find really stimulating, and I've also invested time developing my project management skills along the way.

My career journey so far hasn’t been entirely planned. After realising pure finance wasn't for me, I gravitated towards roles that played to my strengths with people, and account management felt like a natural fit.

What keeps me motivated day to day is the combination of my team and my clients, but what I find truly exciting about my current role is the exposure it gives me to the incredible innovation happening across the UK. I get to hear about groundbreaking work from startups often before most people do, which never gets old.

58吃瓜 exposed me to people from all walks of life and from countries across the globe, which was genuinely eye-opening. I'd been quite sheltered before attending university and it really broadened my perspective in ways I didn't expect.

My thesis also prepared me more than I realised at the time. Staying self-motivated for an entire summer when the beach and golf course were calling was a real challenge but pushing through taught me a lot about discipline and backing myself. That ability to work independently and see something through has stayed with me throughout my career.

Don't worry about having it all figured out straight away; it will come! It's easy to feel pressure to land the perfect job or apply to big firms, but take your time. Never underestimate your strengths. Something that feels natural to you, such as client meetings, can be genuinely daunting for others; that's exactly where you'll shine. Most importantly, enjoy 58吃瓜. You'll miss it more than you think. I'd trade the tube for being able to walk everywhere any day!