Northampton Academy Careers Department was delighted to welcome Delia, a former student studying Business and Spanish at degree level. Delia decided to include a year of studying abroad and is now located in Madrid.

Always keen to support other students, Delia popped back to the Academy this week to talk to a group of Year 12 students and share her experiences of studying in another country. Delia invited students to ask questions, including, 'How was the transition from a UK university to a university abroad?' Delia advised that the transition hadn't been without stress but advised that careful planning and research was essential. Exploring accommodation and transport systems would have saved time and money, and this was a message that Delia was keen to share.

As a fluent speaker of Spanish, Delia underlined the importance of developing the language of the country you are intending to travel to. Speaking the language has allowed Delia to integrate with her new friends and colleagues. Not knowing the language would have been 'quite isolating'. Despite the challenges she faced, Delia shone a light on the number of new experiences she has enjoyed, the depth of culture available and the unique opportunity to live in a vibrant city and admitted that the hard work and time spent preparing for the move was well worth it.