Eleni Papaspyrou
BSc Economics, 2010
Country of origin: Cyprus
Employer: American Academy, Cyprus
I initially chose Lancaster University because of its excellent reputation for research and because of its great campus. Lancaster is an ideal place for young people leaving home for the first time. You never feel home-sick since there is a variety of things a student can do. The campus is extremely well organised and friendly, and due to the collegiate system at Lancaster there is always someone to help you with any issue that arises.
The BSc Economics degree at Lancaster University was ideal for me as it was flexible in terms of the choice of courses. That gave me the opportunity to study some minor courses in other subjects offered by the Management School: I combined my studies in economics with four subjects offered in the Accounting and Finance department.
During my time at Lancaster, I was a member of the Economic Society for three years and I attended most of the speeches and lectures that took place, featuring distinguished guest speakers. I was also awarded two prizes during the course of my degree: in 2008 the Phillips Andrew Memorial Book Prize (jointly awarded), and in 2009 the Peel Studentship Trust award.
In summer 2009 I completed an internship at KPMG in Cyprus. During the internship I was involved in many activities, including bookkeeping, assisting in the review of financial statements, assisting senior team members in audit engagements, completing income tax returns and using software applications like Caseware. I also had the opportunity to participate in a Project Contest on the topic of corporate citizenship. This was a great opportunity to work in a very professional environment. During the course of this internship, I was able to gain plenty of commercial skills. It was a fantastic way to experience the business world and develop new and useful skills.
Although I received offers from the London School of Economics and from Warwick University to complete a Masters degree in Finance, I decided to return to Cyprus and work for a private school. My first job was as an economics teacher at Xenion High School in Paralimni, where I taught A-level and IGCSE Economics and Business Studies. I then took a job teaching economics and accounting at the American Academy private school.
