Hi! My name is Damian Stan and I come from Baia Mare. I am a second year student at University of Aberdeen, one of the best universities in Scotland, specialising in Biochemistry, where I was accepted after obtaining the 9.83 grade at the Baccalaureate.
Last year I benefited from the support of donors from Adoptăm Studenți platform and GRASP community, which allowed me to study where I wanted. I managed to raise funds also by working before coming to the university at a company to build double glazing. But I also worked after settling in the new city, delivering food by bike, which helped with some of the costs.
In the first year of university studies I obtained mostly high marks, which makes me feel fulfilled and encouraged. I had different courses, of which I was very impressed by the one about mind and brain through the topics approached: creativity, mental illness and their effects, language development or others. In biology I feel that it went the hardest, probably because I am used to subjects based on mathematics, but I finished well learning botanics and zoology in a year. Instead, I felt best in chemistry, especially in the laboratory where I did interesting experiments with unprecedented pieces of glass. I also learned medical sciences, where I had the most fascinating laboratory classes, including the study of the reactivity of enzymes in different conditions or the extraction of our own DNA that we kept.
In addition to my academic experience, I feel that I have gained a lot of responsibility as an adult, after a year living away from home. It was not easy to organise my time or money on my own, but I learned this quickly: at first, with many unexpected and small expenses, there were missing amounts that I could not fully explain. That's how I started making lists with every paid laundry, lunch at the canteen or a bus trip. I was also helped by the four years spent as a leader in scouts, years that gave me a practical sense and leadership qualities, which made my life alone in the last year easier.
All of this helps me feel closer to the projected future in my mind.
After finishing my studies, I want to become a researcher in neurochemistry, to study the biochemical processes in the human brain and to contribute to the cure of diseases such as Alzheimer, Parkinson or to overcome psychological traumas. My dream is to be able to work in my country without difficulties, but at the moment it is not possible. So I wish that together with all the others with whom I share the same dream we can return and bring major changes in the field of research in Romania.
Even though tuition is free in Scotland, the costs of a student in the UK are high, costs I can't afford to cover entirely. I will dedicate a lot of time to learning, as a result I will only be able to work on a part-time job, which will not be enough to cover the rest of the annual living costs. So I turn to your help!
Thank you!
