Shahira Shahir, Cumberland Lodge Fellow 2022-24, PhD student in the School of Management at Cardiff Metropolitan University, and Cara (Council for At-Risk Academics) scholar from Afghanistan, shares her thoughts on attending the annual Fellows’ Retreat at Cumberland Lodge in February 2022.
What a great feeling to spend your weekend with a group of people who are the same age as you, and the same level of education – but with different backgrounds, different ethnicities, beautiful hearts, smiling faces, and all trying to connect and build friendships.
At the Fellows’ Retreat, we spent our weekend together in a place where we could share our ideas and be involved with creating new projects.
We were learning something new, something different from our research, like how to improve our public speaking skills, produce podcasts or write for a blog like this one!
We had the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences and listen to others’ inspirational speeches, to build up our confidence and help prepare for our future.
While there, we had the opportunity to attend the Royal Chapel, experience Christian worship and meet the local community.
At the end of the weekend, when I left that place, I felt like I was leaving my home and my family, because it is like home, cosy and filled with kind people. It is like a school which is full of friends and joy, and like a university educating you.
When I left, I was inspired, filled with joy, happiness, and a package of new knowledge that was gained in that place.
And that place’s name is Cumberland Lodge.
