Alex Buka
Graphic Design
To find out where Alex loves to spend his time in Southend (when he is not studying of course!) simply click on the hot spots on the map to the right.
- Why did you choose to study in Southend?
- I chose to go to South East Essex College mainly because of the location. Southend is such a great place, the town is on your doorstep and I saved loads of money by studying locally. The best thing about the College is that the facilities are great – they’re just as good as any university in London.
- What course did you study and what have you achieved?
- While I was at South East Essex College I studied for a BA hons in Graphic Design. I got a good grade, but the best aspect was the networking. I made an awful lot of friends, many of whom I’m still in contact with today. However, my biggest achievement was setting up an award-winning company. I set it up with some of my best mates and it is still going strong today.
- How did your time at South East Essex College help you prepare for ‘real life’?
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Studying at South East Essex College really gave me a great flavour of life away from the educational environment. It really helped me when I came to setting up my own business.
The best aspect was working with people from such a broad range of cultures – people from Finland, Spain and Hong Kong all made it a great place to learn. It was fantastic to mix with all these people and learn from each other.
- Away from the college, what did you enjoy doing in Southend?
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As you can imagine, Southend is a lively place and it’s a great place to go out. I used to go to The Alex a lot for a drink. There are so many top bars and pubs in and around Southend.
There are also bars like Saks or the Sun Rooms, they have a great, relaxed atmosphere and some excellent live music too.
But isn’t all just about nightlife. Southend has some great gyms and swimming pools and the Odeon cinema, at the top of the High Street, always has a good mix of films on.
There’s a rich tradition of music shops in town as well, many of which have fantastic back catalogues. And it isn’t just big names either – there’s a little shop called Golden Disc just off the High Street, they have some excellent stuff in there.
- What would you say to someone thinking of studying in Southend?
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South East Essex College is a really great place to learn and it proves you don’t have to go to London to have a great education experience. In fact, you can do everything in Southend that you could do in London, you just don’t have to deal with all the people and all the hassle.
And if you do want to head up into town, the train station is just seconds away and it’s just 45 minutes ‘til London!
