Ieva's story

"I have close friends who inspire me to become a better person."

I’m in my second year of a BSc Biomedical Sciences degree. I really want to be a nutritionist, which stems from my passion for health, science, sport and fitness. I think I can help people in future.

I run my own Instagram page called @ieva_eats. I have up to 7,000 followers and upload photos of my food, myself and I just help people. I give some nutritional information, but mostly just positivity and food recipes. I think my Instagram page is potentially the start of a future business opportunity. I’d like to become a bit bigger and actually help people. I’d like to do online coaching for nutrition.

I have some modules which really help. For example, last year I did Anatomy and Physiology which was the most interesting module I have ever done in my life; it really helped me understand the human body and it got me interested in it as well.

I became vegetarian four years ago and have been vegan for two. I started because I had eczema, a skin condition that I thought going vegetarian would help with, and then when I stopped eating dairy everything disappeared.

I am originally from Lithuania, but I lived in Norwich for over eight years. I speak Lithuanian and English, and my mum came to the UK for work. I came to visit for two weeks and she didn’t let me go home, so I kinda stayed!

I found it quite difficult to get into university. I had to repeat my A-levels, which was a difficult one. I went through clearing because I didn’t get one of my grades, but I’m so happy I came here. I didn’t put Essex as my choice, but I went through clearing and they accepted me! I think it’s a big accomplishment for me to get into university and achieve a good grade in my first year. I think I’m doing quite well now.

The Colchester Campus is amazing, particularly the lakes and the green spaces. There are so many study spaces as well, like the Silberrad Student Centre. I can’t easily study in my bedroom, so I study elsewhere on campus. I like to keep my room as my space to sleep and rest; I like to keep it separate to studying. I study better with other people as well; being surrounded by people kinda motivates me. But living in South Courts in my first year was really fun!

I recently got an interview for my placement year, so that made me smile! I would like to do a year abroad so I’m still deciding what I’ll actually do, but at the moment I have an interview near Cambridge for a company called Concept Life Sciences, to work as a biomedical science lab assistant. For me, doing a placement year is about the experience. It isn’t exactly what I want to do in future because if I did my placement it would be in biomedical science, but it would be for the experience. Maybe however I would re-consider what I do if I really enjoyed it. If I do a year abroad instead, I’d love to go to Germany or Sweden.

I have done quite a bit of travelling, it is my new passion right now. I really like to go to new places, which is another reason why I want to do online coaching, so I can travel whilst I work. In the summer of 2015 I visited 17 European countries in two months! It’s called inter-railing. It’s one of the big reasons why I am into travelling. That is one thing I see my myself doing soon as well, maybe after university. It was the best time of my life, if I’m being honest! I’d like to go travelling in Asia, it’s one of the places I am really considering going to soon.

Whilst travelling I could still give out nutrition plans to people and offer health and lifestyle coaching, helping people to become a better version of themselves.

My friends inspire me. I have some really close friends; I don’t have many, but I have close friends who really inspire me to become a better person. Especially one of my friends, Emily, who encourages me to just be a better person. She’s a very inspiring person in general. She has Instagram too and helped me to start. She’s given me tips on how to do better, what to write etc. We do lots of things together, and we write together as well. We just have a bond.