GRADUATION CASE STUDY: ATIQA NADEEM

Studying at the University of Wolverhampton has been an “amazing” three years for ambitious Atiqa Nadeem, who is graduating with first class honours.

After discovering a talent and interest in numbers, Atiqa decided to pursue a BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance with the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Living in Telford, she chose Wolverhampton due to its location and the fact that it offered exactly the course she wanted to study.

The 21-year-old says: “When I did A-Level Accounts, I realised that I am good at numbers and I can have good career as an accountant, and that’s when I started looking for courses at different universities.”

Like many students, Atiqa found juggling her studies with other aspects of her life a challenge, but was able to shine by managing her time effectively.

“One of the challenges was working part-time in my final year. I was a bit nervous as I didn’t take a job during my first two years due to my studies. However, I managed very well as I scored above 70s in every module. Another challenge was my dissertation because coursework has never been my favourite and I always struggle with it, but I was very pleased with my final grade of 84% as it’s among the highest grades.”

Atiqa wants to become a professionally qualified accountant by studying a Master’s or an Association of Chartered Certified Accountants qualification in 2-3 years’ time. But currently she is working in accounts to balance work experience with her academic qualifications, as she says “practice is more important in the real world”.

She adds: “My ideal job will always be to become Financial Director of a company. One of the advantages of studying this degree is that it opens up various career paths so I would love to diversify my expertise and try something different like auditing or a tax consultant.