Peadar started his educational journey in Dublin but after one year decided ATU Donegal was a better choice for him.
Peadar Mogan, a graduating final year student of the BSc (Hons) in Sports and Exercise, is a student who explored his options in Dublin, only to return home to study an honours degree at ATU Donegal. Before joining ATU Donegal, Peadar began his studies at University in Dublin. During this time, he struggled to find balance as he was playing for Donegal U20s and the travel commitments back and forth between Dublin and Donegal were not favourable for the best student experience.
After his first year in Dublin, Peadar felt totally stretched and he decided to change his mind and chose to study closer to home at ATU Donegal. When researching his degree programme options at ATU Donegal, Peadar spoke to the university academic staff about the course content and spoke with ATU Donegal students about their student experience on-campus.
Peadar joined ATU Donegal as a first-year student on the BSc (Hons) in Sports and Exercise programme in 2018, Peadar commented, “I loved the learning experience at ATU Donegal, the practical hands-on teaching labs have equipped me with the academic knowledge and workplace skills to be job ready on graduating. Being able to study at home, in Donegal, has given me so many opportunities. Opportunities that I don’t think I would have had if I had of stayed in Dublin. When I chose to study at home, in ATU Donegal, I was able to focus on my academic and sporting ambitions, and I was given incredible support on campus to excel in both areas.”
During Peadar’s first year at ATU Donegal he was the captain of the Donegal U20 team, he now plays for the Donegal Senior team. Equally, in university football, Peadar has enjoyed great sporting success and in 2019 ATU Donegal (formerly LYIT) won the Trench Cup and went on to reach the semi-finals of the Sigerson Cup the following year.
Commenting on his sporting achievements to date, Peadar said, “Don’t discount what you might view as a smaller university when considering competition and success in sport. ATU Donegal has a strong focus on sports and the competitive mindset. During my time as a student, sporting teams went from strength-to-strength, and I can only see this continuing to grow. The sports staff foster a great community among players with fun being at the centre of their ethos and very importantly, they get it right when it comes to balancing college training with other training commitments, alongside the academic part too. I loved representing ATU Donegal on the field and I thoroughly enjoyed my time studying at ATU Donegal.”
The deadline for the CAO ‘Change-of-Mind’ facility is 5:00pm, 1 July. Over 60% of CAO applicants use this facility each year, and with the deadline fast approaching, ATU Donegal is encouraging prospective students to consider ATU Donegal in their CAO choices.
If you would like to follow in Peadar’s footsteps, and if you are looking for advice or information on your Level 8 and Level 6/7 CAO programmes options at ATU Donegal, ahead of the CAO ‘Change of Mind’ deadline, contact the ATU Donegal Schools Engagement Team via phone on (074) 9186104 or by email on lauren.reynolds@lyit.ie