David Nickson

My favourite thing about studying criminology at Edge Hill was that each day was different. In my second year I went from learning about how different groups react to things in generating reputations to war crimes and hate crimes.

After I left university, I joined The British Army as a military intelligence analyst. What I learnt about the world and how crime changes allowed me to understand more information that I gathered while in the field.

Writing my dissertation and having the freedom to pick what I wanted to write about is my most memorable moment. My title was Gender Stereotypes in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. Which was very different to my friends’ titles.

Edge Hill supported me by allowing me to travel and gain experience. I went to Germany in my second year to learn about the German Police. Edge Hill also supported my trip to China when I went with the Study China Programme. I spent a whole month in Beijing trying to learn the language.

The top three skills I have gained from my degree are critical thinking, empathy and an eye for detail.

My current career goals are to become a criminal barrister. After university while waiting for my start date in the Army, I spent some time working at a Crown Court as an usher. This allowed me to experience the criminal justice system, that I had just spent three years studying, first hand and see how the inner mechanisms of how a court works.

To anyone thinking of studying criminology at Edge Hill, my advice would be to read further into why you want to study the subject. Find an area you love and take every opportunity. Also look into the sports, I played American Football for the Edge Hill Vikings in my final year. I love the sport and love the teammates I played with.