Research Internship in Beijing

My name is Aleena Murphy, I am 18, I live on Viking Road in Gravesend, and I am a young carer for my mum with TGN. I am on Pupil Premium, and received Free School Meals during my time at school. I attended Dartford Grammar School for sixth form. I studied the IB, taking 4 highers instead of the usual 3.

This autumn, I’m enrolling at Durham University, a top 5 UK university, to study Law for my undergraduate degree.

Alongside my studies, I’ve worked multiple jobs, and began working at the age of 13, when COVID first began and my mum was unable to work. I began tutoring during COVID in order to contribute money towards my family, and became responsible for shouldering many of the costs of food and other household needs. I’ve found tutoring to be the most rewarding jobs I’ve had to date, and have worked with over 20 pupils over the last 5 years with a 100% success rate. I’ve taught children from 5-15, many with Autism, ADHD or Dyslexia, supporting them through various exams such as the 11+ and GCSEs, and have also taught 3 mature students through their English B1 exams. Having this real and genuine impact on the lives within my community has had such a positive impact on me and my aspirations in future to work in improving people's lives.

Other jobs I’ve worked have included: dance teacher, singing teacher, musical theatre teacher, Children’s party entertainer and childminder.

I’ve been offered recently to conduct research alongside BeiJing university for three weeks in China this summer. This opportunity could have great benefits to my future career, as it presents the opportunity to conduct my own original research into geopolitics and eastern society, as well as offering several networking opportunities and letters of recommendation from professors and employers across China.

This internship could have such a positive impact on my future career, but also on my own development. After learning Chinese for over 7 years, the chance to apply this knowledge in a real world situation is so significant to me. In 2020, I won the British Council National Chinese Speaking Competition, and won a trip to China, but was unable to attend due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

While the internship programme, organised by the MEP at UCL and BeiJing University, covers all of the costs such as accommodation and board when in China, the costs associated with flights and visa are proving to be too much for me, and are making this opportunity unattainable.

This internship is more than just a CV boost or a chance to practise my mandarin skills in an applied context. It’s an opportunity to conduct research and a step toward my penultimate goal in diplomacy.