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Fernanda E

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My name is Fer, and I’ve been a Monarch Effect Ambassador since August 2025. I have been enrolled in Falmouth University, England, where I study Game Art; if all goes well, I’ll be set to graduate in 2028. The Foundation helped me through choosing a career path and getting to where I am today— I’m in love with my career, and the opportunities they’ve provided for the community are no less than life-changing. I’m proud to represent Los Cabos and the Monarch Effect Foundation all the way in Cornwall!

flight plan

September 2025

Hello, Monarch Family! This is the first blog post that I get to make as a part of the Ambassador program, and it has been a rollercoaster of a month. September was full of learning opportunities and new experiences for me now that I have officially begun university, and it has shown me what kind of world there is not only outside of Los Cabos, but as I enter adulthood as well.

Adjusting to British university life (and British autumn weather!) has been a challenge, but as a fresh high school graduate, going back to school life surrounded by people who share the same passions as I have has been an incredibly inspiring experience. I have used my free time to explore essential skills -- such as cooking for myself, handling bills and time management -- as well as indulging my interests by making the most of university facilities. Despite Falmouth University being praised for its resources, having the opportunity to go through training in order to learn first-hand what it's like to use professional equipment while also being taught industry standard programs is an experience like no other. During my free days, I've been spending time in the practice rooms in order to practice for the musical theatre society -- Falmouth Follies -- which means that I also have had the opportunity to pursue my passion for musical theatre alongside my studies.

So far, I've survived freshers' week and inductions, which means that I am starting formal classes. While we're only a few days in, I've already begun familiarising myself with two of the programs we're expected to use the most-- one for illustration, and one for 3D modelling. That in itself is a challenge, but despite catching "freshers flu", I'd say I've been handling myself quite well thus far. The campus is a beautiful blend of modern and rural, as Penryn is rich in its biodiversity-- I even get a view of the trees from my dorm room!

Truly, I am given more reasons to fall in love with my campus every single day. I look forward to sharing my experience more in-depth with you all as time goes on!

In flight - my blog

November 2025

November is a month I looked forward to writing about. It’s been a wild one, sure, but that only means that I’ve been full of joy and adventure! With my semester projects coming to a close soon, I have been rushing to keep up and have everything ready for Christmas break. I’m still incredibly tired, but it’s not all bad– I’m building important study habits, and if anything, that’s a good thing. On a better note, as I’ve established before, I’m an active member of the musical theatre society in my university. Earlier this month, we had our first performance of the year; it was messy and chaotic, but it got done and it went quite well! I always rant about how much I love indulging in my hobbies, but I really do mean it. The week-long break from rehearsals after that was also a treat. It really helped me grow closer to some of my colleagues, who I can confidently call my close friends. Since then, the month turned pretty routinely because of my previously-mentioned projects, or my equivalents to finals. I can’t wait to have free time again, but I’m having a great time while I work now that I know what I’m doing… at least in comparison when I started. There’s still a lot of improvement to be had, but my artistic growth since I started has been exponential! Next semester will bring a lot of pressure, but I’m confident I can handle it! In the words of Benjamin Distraeli: Change is inevitable. Change is constant. Adaptation is key when it comes to improvement, and that is my strength. I look forward to what I will learn next!

October 2025

Hi everybody! It's been a month since my first update, which marks the first month of my studies at Falmouth University! This month has been filled with all kinds of adventures, frustrations, and friendships made. To begin, I can finally say (with confidence) that I no longer get lost on my way to and from the store back to my flat. That doesn't sound much by itself, but the roads and shortcuts on the footpath that I take to get there are becoming increasingly familiar to me. That's a huge accomplishment! As far as feeling like home, though, I can say that the weather has definitely not been on my side. I was warned about the late-autumn weather in the UK, and I fear it's all true; it's dreadfully cloudy, unpredictably rainy, and too windy to carry an umbrella. I grow accustomed to it, yes, but I admit that I miss the sun a lot of the time. Watching the rain outside is peaceful until you're walking a mile to class under trees that shake dew on you if you so much as breathe their way! I can only look forward to the winter!

In other news, my classes are all to die for! While I have many deadlines coming up as I type this, I'm confident that I won't be overloaded just yet. Life drawing classes are my favourite-- we get nude models every other week to pose for us, and those workshops are always so calming to me. While I love creative illustration and modelling, it's a relief to be able to draw something mindlessly from a reference, even if just once a week. I'll attach one of my favourite pieces to the blog!

Now, a month in, I can confidently say I have made great friends from all parts of campus. I've managed to integrate myself into my recreational and educational groups. I have a consistent friend group and a lot of my lecturers know me by name-- next month, I hope to continue integrating myself as I work as a student representative for Game Art; which, speaking of, my training has just begun. My job as a student rep is to provide higher-ups with feedback collected from fellow students in order to improve the quality of life on campus. I believe it's two or three others on my year, so I'm sure to meet someone in the group and while doing rep work.

I've got a long, busy month ahead of me, but I look forward to it. My jobs here have just begun, and I'm ready for whatever they bring!

February 2026

February, for me, has been a month full of learning. While my studies become more demanding, that was the least of my worries this month. The month began ambitious and hopeful, but turned to stress quickly, as my access to the school services were cut off during reading week… and, unfortunately, that meant that I would be unable to study for the time that the issue was addressed. It was intense, to put it lightly. That week or so really opened my eyes to where I really was, though– surrounded by a reliable support system that was on the ready, both in person and at a distance. I really have my close friends to thank for the fact that I made it through, as they visited often and accompanied me to talk to the campus staff to act as my moral support. Under stress, they made sure that I was fed and well, as I felt that I was completely stuck and, if I’m honest, afraid. Being unable to communicate with my teachers and classmates isolated me from my academic life and I’d never felt so guilty. It’s thanks to them, my parents, Elizabeth and Lisa, that I made it through. The pep talks, check-ins and visits kept me afloat, and I have never felt closer to them than I do now. It wasn’t all bad, then, but to really ice the cake, when I went back to classes, I was motivated and confident to continue. I think that it really showed, as I got praise from the professors of some of my favourite classes. I’ve made acquaintances with one who happens to be closer to my age– a Falmouth graduate, actually!– and that class continues to feel like a pleasant break in the middle of my week. After a rough start at the beginning of the year, I finally feel like my skills are shining through, despite really hitting hard with the skills that I lack. This school continues to challenge me month after month, and despite it catching up to me, I will still continue to do my best. Look forward to spring, everybody! Sunny days ahead!

January 2026

January has been nothing short of a chaotic time to get back into the loop of things. Jet lag, travels, and moving back to England is a whole story in itself. I’m truly privileged enough to spend some of this time reflecting on the past year, though, and that’s been a beautiful journey I was able to go on alongside my family. The holidays made me miss them even more, but coming home to Falmouth has been equally as refreshing. After the break, I’ve come back with a refreshing sense of self, and I’ve set out for 2026 to be a much more active and productive year than the last. I’m taking more risks, being spontaneous, and taking things a little less seriously– I’ve allowed myself to adapt to the challenges given to me, and as such, have had the time to have more fun. I’ve especially gotten quite good at making conversation with new people, and as such, I’ve made a few friends. Going into the new semester, though, is quite the intimidating feat; while I’m familiar with what I have to do and how to do it, what’s expected of us in terms of schoolwork and projects is a towering mound. I will admit, however, that it does excite me– I’m making a video game (to some extent)! I can’t believe they’re already throwing us into game engines (Unreal Engine in my case) already, but what I can believe is that it will give us a huge headstart for next year, as we’ll be picking our specialisations and focus on that then. I look forward to that already! If anything, that’s a huge motivator (as are a lot of things for me). On another note, the Musical Theatre Society (Falmouth Follies) has announced the annual musical we will be performing, and auditions are approaching. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I’m very committed to the society, and I’m incredibly excited. While it’s not a very well-known play, it’s one I’ve quickly grown to be a big fan of. I’ve got my eyes on a few roles, but even if I’m cast as part of the ensemble, I look forward to performing with my friends. As of now, that’s what’s been going on! Let’s keep our heads up, everybody– 2026 will be our year.

December 2025

This month was definitely my busiest to date. With finals and flights approaching, December was a true test of wit and discipline, but it didn’t quite hit me until I finished my last lesson with one of my professors. Suddenly, I had three classes a week and nothing but my own calendar to guide me. So, in the last two weeks I had left on campus for 2025, I set out to complete all my final projects in a timely, organised manner. I counted down the days to deadlines and organised each day according to the closest deadlines, but considering which kind of work would take me the longest. Even though I had to, at one point, restart one of my projects from scratch with one week left to the deadline, I found myself for hours at a time in the school library multiple days a week in order to squeeze in the last bits of work I wouldn’t be able to do while I was back home for the holidays. Ironically enough, most of my learning during this month wasn’t during the countless hours in the library, but instead during the transit to and from my home back in Mexico. While I’d travelled independently before, I was faced with very tight connections, which made me incredibly nervous. However, I was incredibly lucky and people were very understanding of my situation, so I made it just fine to both. Seeing my family again, hanging out with other ambassadors, and finally eating home-cooked food were the breath of fresh air I needed to go into 2026. Happy new year, readers!

Fernanda E

flight plan

In flight - my blog

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