Annabel is originally from the south but migrated north to Yorkshire to study Law. 

Back in August I was about to start uni with no idea what I was getting into! Freshly back from volunteering in South America I was struggling with the British weather and speaking English, and I hadn’t even visited the university I was about to spend 3 years at! So meeting people from Student Linkup at a summer festival was brilliant! They instantly made me feel more confident about starting uni, gave me some really great tips for finding a church and hooked me up with the app.

When I got to uni, finding a church was top of my priorities (after unpacking and meeting my flatmates!). If I’m honest, the idea of turning up at lots of churches and not knowing anyone scared me, but going round with people I’d got to know during fresher’s made it much easier. And it was so worth it! I settled into a church pretty quickly and I love the sense of community and family. I think that’s what really stands out at uni- my flatmates have all commented on how genuine and fun to be around my friends from church are, and how they’d love to be part of a community like that. One of them even asked to come to church with me!

Church has helped my faith to thrive at university, because I have a place to ask questions about my faith and a community that helps me reach my non-Christian friends. If you’re already at uni and haven’t committed to a church yet, I’d really encourage you to just go for it. There’s no better piece of advice about starting uni than this- Get stuck into a church!