VMU Students: With the Freedom Granted by the University Comes Responsibility

The opportunity to learn foreign languages, combine favourite activities, and choose from a wide range of study exchange programmes – that is how students Gabrielius Marcos Buslys and Ūla Raškinytė describe their first semester at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU).

Gabrielius, who has chosen integrated law studies, and Ūla, studying for a bachelor’s in economics, are aided in achieving good academic results by the university’s encouragement scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to first-cycle students who have a high competitive entry score.

The students shared their thoughts on studies and their first months at the university, and offered advice to school-leavers on how to prevent final exams from becoming an overwhelming nightmare.

Balancing studies with a career as a professional footballer

“I think that an interest in justice has always existed in my mind. I was also fascinated by the realisation that being a lawyer can contribute to the administration of justice. Moreover, I believe I possess certain skills necessary for this profession, complemented by my personality traits: I am precise, dynamic, and enjoy arguing. The wide range of future career opportunities also influenced my decision to study law. Having legal knowledge seems like a significant advantage,” says Gabrielius, who chose to study law.

According to him, at the university, he is most fascinated by the freedom, which also brings more responsibilities. “You have to learn to manage your time and priorities. What surprised me the most was how warmly and friendly the teachers interact with students. It shows that we are equals, able to freely discuss, and the teachers often use examples from their personal experiences during lectures, which makes the lectures even more interesting. Moreover, forming new connections with other students and like-minded individuals has opened up opportunities to discover new hobbies and interests,” Gabrielius describes his first months at the university.

According to the law student, the artes liberales study model at VMU, where students have the opportunity to attend lectures in other disciplines, only deepens their understanding and adds to their knowledge of how not only our country but also the world works. “The teachers give us a lot of freedom to understand and delve deeper into areas of interest. I see this as an opportunity for self-improvement,” says the young man, who is also pleased with the wide selection of foreign languages available.

Gabrielius recounts that while he was still in high school, he had the opportunity to represent the VMU football team. Football is not just a hobby in his life – he engages in the sport professionally. According to him, juggling studies and a career as a professional footballer is much easier at university than at school, thanks to a more flexible lecture schedule.

“Of course, sometimes you feel physically too tired. However, it is certainly possible to juggle everything. It’s important not to forget to take time for yourself, rest, and also study effectively,” assures Gabrielius, who is considering pursuing minor studies in history in the future.

Parents inspired a passion for languages

Meanwhile, Ūla, who is studying economics, says that the decision to choose this field was influenced by her father, who is an economics graduate. “Economics is not a very restrictive or career-limiting field; you can do many things with a degree in this area,” she explains.

She also bases her choice of university on the wide range of exchange programmes that allow students to travel outside Europe. By taking advantage of this opportunity, Ūla dreams of not only visiting interesting places and gaining new knowledge but also of practising one of the foreign languages she is currently learning.

Ūla, who has been attending Korean language courses for two years, asserts that her passion for learning languages was instilled by her parents. “Both my mother and father speak many languages, so I started learning languages quite early. My native language is Lithuanian, I started learning English from the second grade, my parents wanted my sister and me to know Russian, so from the third grade, they arranged for us to learn it privately, and later I started learning German, which I continued until I finished the 12th grade,” explains Ūla.

Having started attending Korean language courses offered by the King Sejong Institute at VMU while still in school, Ūla affirms that as soon as she enrolled at the university, she knew she wanted to continue expanding her list of languages.

“Since I really like Spanish and Latin American music, and I would like to travel around Latin America in the future, this autumn semester I chose to attend Spanish language lectures,” says the young woman.

Like Gabrielius, Ūla also admires the freedom the university offers to choose which lectures to attend. “At school, everything is very structured, attendance is closely monitored, but at university, you are given freedom. Here, you are considered an adult, lecturers interact as equals, and you can design your own schedule. Of course, you need to study, but you are responsible for how you manage to balance all your activities,” observes Ūla, who, alongside her main study programme, is also delving into psychology, made possible by VMU’s provision for studying in a minor study programme.

Exam results do not determine one’s life path

Ūla is delighted that the encouragement scholarship provided by the university gives her an extra incentive to combine different study programmes. She says she was aware of the possibility of receiving a scholarship even before enrolling at the university, but as the student points out, her main goal was to perform well in her final exams. “Of course, the encouragement scholarship provides additional motivation to continue pursuing my goals. Finding out I would receive this scholarship made me very happy. Since I don’t work and still live with my parents, for now, I use this income for my own needs. However, I am increasingly thinking about the opportunity to go on a study exchange, so I believe that the scholarship will be useful in the near future,” says the economics student.

Meanwhile, Gabrielius, who is studying at the VMU Faculty of Law, compares the encouragement scholarship he receives to a reward for the efforts made while still in school. “I think that for me and other students, the scholarship primarily contributes financially. It also takes my mind off how to support myself and allows me to focus on my studies during the first semester without worrying about financial issues,” he says.

The young man, who excelled in his history exam, has always taken a rational approach to exams and believes the most important thing is confidence in oneself and trust in knowledgeable teachers. “My main advice to school-leavers would be not to make spontaneous decisions about which studies to choose. It’s important to consider yourself, your interests, hobbies, what fascinates you personally, and of course, to consider future prospects and discuss it with others. It’s important to understand that the choice of studies does not determine your entire life path; after all, life is dynamic, and it’s possible to change decisions, so you shouldn’t worry too much about it,” Gabrielius is convinced.

This viewpoint is also supported by Ūla. Although she experienced a lot of stress during the exam period, she urges school-leavers not to give in to anxiety, as it is only a small part of the entire 12 years spent in school.

“I believe that life goes on regardless of how well you perform in exams. For those who are unsure about which study field to choose, I can reassure you that I felt the same way. I still don’t know what I’ll do after completing these studies. But I think there’s no rush. I’m glad that VMU provides the opportunity to try myself in several different fields. Here, you’re free to explore and test various things, to see what sticks with you and what doesn’t,” Ūla says.