V'cenza Cirefice

From a young age, V’cenza was determined to go to an integrated secondary school when the time came to transfer from P7.  Having attended a ‘feeder school’ where most of her classmates were going to grammar schools in Newry, she ‘always knew’ that she wanted to go to a different kind of school herself.  ‘Because my mum is Protestant and my dad’s Catholic’, she says, ‘I wanted to go somewhere where it was OK to be any religion, and not just be the odd one out.’  If Shimna College hadn’t been available, V’cenza would have travelled ‘a really long way’ from her home in Kilkeel to reach the nearest integrated school, in Banbridge. 

V’cenza enjoyed the ‘atmosphere’ of Shimna, especially in the older years, finding it ‘relaxed’ with a ‘nice sense of community’. She has always been passionate about art, and originally wanted to be an artist like her parents.  Things took an unexpected turn when she entered sixth year at Shimna, and found she loved geography so much she thought ‘I have to do geography!’ With only two students in the class, V’cenza was inspired by the subject, and wanted to take it further. V’cenza was fascinated with environmental issues and practical approaches to sustainability, such as organic farming, biodynamic farming, and traditional crafts.  These interests were developed further through her choice of A-Levels, when she studied geography, art and history, along with English AS.

V’cenza did work experience with Sustainable Northern Ireland, which confirmed her interest in conservation and environmental issues but also taught her that working in an office was not for her.   When it came to deciding which university courses to apply for, V’cenza was torn between wide-ranging options.  She thinks she was ‘the last one in the school to send the UCAS form out!’, as both art and geography appealed to her.  In the end, geography at Aberdeen won out.  

In her first year at Aberdeen V’cenza was able to do a course called Natural World, which included lots of practical activities, field trips into the woods and craft projects as well as learning theoretically about forestry and the mythology of the natural world.  It ‘drew from every subject’ and enabled her to indulge both her geographical and her artistic interests.  V’cenza is enjoying anthropology as an additional subject, especially as the study of culture and society in anthropology overlaps with human geography.

Because Scottish degrees take four years, V’cenza still has three years to go.  After university she would like to spend some time volunteering in Camphill Community, ‘a life-sharing community where people with special needs live and work with people called co-workers in houses together’.  Camphill has a focus on self-sufficiency, so the community has a bakery, food processing, craft workshop, laundry, and weavery, based on the ideas of Rudolph Steiner.  V’cenza might also like to continue her studies after her first degree.  She thinks that students worried about which path to take should ‘take it easy and don’t stress about it because what’s right will come along.’