As we get ever closer to Christmas Day, many people are thinking about their journey home.
With exams wrapping up this week, third-level students are returning home after a stressful period.
A group of students at University of Limerick (UL) have shared a heartwarming homecoming story in a video released today by the college.
The video was shot and edited by two of UL’s Digital Media Design students, Patrick Hayes and Darragh Lynch and stars fourth year Journalism and New Media student Rebecca Laffan.
"This is the line of work I want to be in, and opportunities to build my portfolio like this one just don’t come along ever so it was as important that I did a good job on this as studying for exams itself," said Darragh.
Five days of filming took place during study and exam weeks.
“As the big brands like John Lewis start releasing their Christmas videos in mid-November trying to get people in the festive mood, our students are really knuckling down studying for their winter exams,” said Sheena Doyle, Communications Manager at UL.
"We wanted to be able to give a view into student life how we see it every day, the hard work and dedication of our students is evident all over campus, especially at this time of year.
So we thought, who better to tell this story than UL students themselves.
Fist-time actor Rebecca Laffan said filming the video was very exciting for her.
"It was a tight squeeze to fit in filming with my deadlines, but it was definitely more difficult to keep the project under wraps for the best part of a month - it was way too exciting," she said.
"I’ve never acted before, but I don’t know if I’d call this acting because they’re all things I was actually doing at the time. In the library shots I was actually fitting in some last-minute assignments and study.
"Likewise, the shots in the Stables pub were genuine, I finished my last exam that day and was there with my closest friends. So in that way, it really wasn’t too unmanageable or unnatural."
The scenes featured in the video, filmed on-campus in UL, and in both Rebecca’s student house and family home, are accompanied by the vocals of UL students Padraic Di Fusco and Renée Yoxon, which were recorded in the Irish World Academy.
More than 35,000 individual exam sittings took place on campus during the annual high-stress period, with students returning to campus for a new semester of study on January 20.
“I think everyone can relate to feeling stressed on the run-up to Christmas, especially students," said Rebecca.
"There’s tiny details that will jog the memory of past-UL students too, which is lovely.
Whether it’s across the world or up the road, coming home for Christmas is never anything but special.
Patrick Hayes said the video is unique.
"The video itself is cool – it’s pretty unique. I mean, I don’t think any other university has done a Christmas video like it, or worked with students the way UL did."
