My SHARE with Schools Experience: Volunteer Blog Post – Izzy Bank

As a third-year Archaeology student who loves to rant to friends and unsuspecting strangers about my degree, I’m ashamed to admit I stumbled into it. To be honest, I slipped, tumbled, and fell—landing only slightly bruised. I came to Cardiff for the city and the people, but hated the course I was originally here to study. So, I scrolled the A-Z list of courses and stopped at A.

Archaeology, to me, had only existed in the form of BBC documentaries my dad made us watch and museums my grandparents dragged us around. I had the same misconceptions as the pupils I meet through Share with Schools—thinking it was all brushing bones and dodging booby traps in cowboy hats. While I loved history at school, all that remains now is my ability to help with pub quiz questions.

What I love about archaeology is how people light up when I say what I study. It brings out secret passions—Vikings, Greek gods, even aliens building world monuments. It touches everything my friends study, from Spanish to Psychology to Optometry. Well, maybe not electrical engineering (sorry, Marcus because that is boring).

I joined Share with Schools in 2022, thanks to a mature student who recommended it. This outreach project is brilliant for two key reasons. First, it shows anyone—regardless of age or background—that humanities in higher education is achievable. Second, it reminds us that if we study past lives of everyday people, we should be able to communicate that to everyday people now.

Volunteering with SWS has been consistently rewarding. It offers pupils a glimpse into university life and gives us the chance to grow outside the classroom. It’s deepened my passion for outreach, education, and archaeology. I’d recommend it to anyone.