Louise's story

"When I was six I went skating and saw everyone in their kit and said "that’s what I want do to – I want to play in all that gear"."

I wanted to do psychology because I’ve always been fascinated by what makes people do stuff and I like understanding things just in life in general. I think I want to go into forensic psychology after this, which involves doing a Masters and then it’s five years of training on the job so I’ll be nice and busy. I want to work in a prison or within the criminal justice system to help people rehabilitate back into society.

I also play ice hockey, which takes up a lot of my time. I recently had three games in one day so I’m very busy. I play for both Guildford and Great Britain. 

I got into it when I was six. I went skating and saw everyone in their kit and said "that’s what I want do to – I want to play in all that gear". You have to be 16 to get on the team and I got on the team when I was 16, and I was on the under 18’s team when I was 15. 

Every four years we go to the Pre-Olympic Qualifications and every year we go to the World Championships. Last year we went to South Korea and this year we are going to Slovenia. We’ve got two bronze medals and a silver medal so it’s pretty cool. We also went to the Pre-Olympic Qualifications in Kazakhstan last year but unfortunately didn’t qualify as we had to go through four rounds because our ranking is quite low. The next one will be in three years’ time. I’m not sure where it’ll be hosted yet but playing at the Winter Olympics is always one of my goals. It’s quite hard to achieve because we don’t get much funding.

Time management is a bit of a struggle for me. I signed up to a lot this year. I like to stretch myself thin. I play Lacrosse at Essex as well, and then I play roller hockey and ball hockey too. Basically just all types of hockey! 

If I had to give one piece of advice when you’re this busy, it would be to write up your lecture notes straight away rather than leaving them. Basically be prepared for when the exam season comes around, because it’s very busy in psychology. I had seven exams in three weeks last year! I just want to graduate with a good grade so I can progress in my career. I’d say that’s my main goal at the moment.