Riddhima Mathur
An ambitious Year 12 student has been praised for taking time out of her summer holiday to complete a course in Economics and Finance, earning herself an unexpected letter of recommendation.
Riddhima Mathur, who is studying a Level 3 extended BTEC in Engineering, impressed the tutors on her OxBright online course, who wrote her a wonderful recommendation letter, calling her an ‘extremely hardworking individual with a very keen mind’. This letter is another feather in her cap when it comes to job applications!
Riddhima took part in the two-week course, run by OxBright, a company which offers online courses for students from all over the world, for a few hours a day in August, and says she found it ‘extremely insightful and worthwhile.’
“I wanted to further my education in an area that UTCR doesn’t cover in great depth. Although it does cover business, I wanted to look further into economics and finance as it is something that I’m interested in as a career. So when I saw this course, I thought why not give it a shot?”
Even more impressive than taking time out of her school summer break to study was the fact that Riddhima was abroad on her family holiday at various cities in America at the time – meaning she had to adapt to new time zones!
“When I was in LA I had to get up at 4.50am, but it was a bit easier when I was in Boston. I’m used to getting up early, so it wasn’t too much of a problem,” she says.
The actual course – billed as an introduction to economics and finance – was quite extensive, Riddhima says. “There was a lot of detail. There were lots of examples, and we were encouraged use the theory alongside real-world examples, like we do at UTC.”
“For example we took part in an Oxford-style debate on whether monopolies are a good or bad thing. I was on the less popular side that they were good and used Great Western Railway as an example. If lots of small companies were building and running the network, that would be much more inefficient than one larger one.”
Riddhima wasn’t expecting to receive ar letter of recommendation, which praised her teamwork, collaborative and leadership skills, plus her proactive approach in seeking additional assignments and learning opportunities. These are all skills that UTC Reading strives to bring out in its students.
“It was nice to get that recommendation letter and when I read it, I felt quite empowered that people do see me as how I’d like to be perceived,” says Riddhima.
We wish Riddhima all the luck with her upcoming exams next year and in her search for a degree apprenticeship – with her skills and drive we just know she’ll be snapped up!
To find out more about OxBright courses click here.
