“Life-changing experience” at UWTSD’s Lampeter campus led MA student to her “dream” job at the Corfu Museum of Asian Art

Christina Panera moved to Wales and signed up for the MA Ancient Religions course having developed a genuine interest in symbolism in archaeology and religions during her undergraduate studies in Greece.

Christina, who is now the Curator of the Chinese Collections at the Corfu Museum of Asian Art in Greece, describes her time at UWTSD’s Lampeter campus as “life-changing.” 

Following her graduation ceremony, Christina said:

“My experience in Lampeter was life-changing. It opened my eyes to new worlds and guided me to find my path, Chinese Culture. The academic and professional staff were passionate, helpful, and understanding. Lampeter opened new possibilities that I could never imagine, and it is a choice that I will never regret.

Having developed a genuine interest in symbolism in archaeology and religions during my undergraduate studies in Greece, I decided to move to the UK for a unique two-year multidisciplinary Master of Arts degree in Ancient Religions at UWTSD.  The programme’s unique focus on the interrelations of religions and societies from a cross-cultural perspective allowed me to engage with new disciplines and methodologies as the modules combined cultural anthropology, archaeology and religious studies from prehistoric times to the 21st century. This equipped me with a wide range of skills, expertise and research techniques that allow me to study cultural understandings from a more holistic perspective, comprising both the past and the present, while also providing the inspiration for my subsequent research on Chinese culture.”

During her time in Lampeter, Christina developed a keen interest in the core values of Chinese culture and started to explore the Chinese language and civilisation further.  Christina added:

“I was initiated to Chinese Culture through cultural events in the university library with workshops in Chinese calligraphy, qi gong and a tea ceremony.

One of the outstanding opportunities I had during my studies in Lampeter was an educational visit to China, where I experienced some of the best days of my life. This trip fuelled my admiration for Asian cultures and compelled me to explore them more deeply in my future studies.

At the end of my graduate studies, I started working in the galleries of the British Museum, something that I had never imagined before starting my studies in Lampeter. For 14 months, every day, I was in contact with thousands of objects representing human histories and cultures from across the world, many of them I studied in Lampeter. This inner dialogue between my work and studies endorsed my fascination more with the ancient world and the world of museums. I am currently working as an archaeologist responsible for the Chinese Collections at the only Museum of Asian Art in Greece, another dream that came true, thanks to Lampeter.”

For further information about the courses available on the University’s Lampeter campus please click here - https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/lampeter/

Further Information

For more information please contact Arwel Lloyd, Principal PR and Communications Officer, on 01267 676663 / arwel.lloyd@uwtsd.ac.uk