Overseas university spotlight: Wrexham University (UK)
For the city of Wrexham, the Wrexham Association Football Club and Wrexham University, the last few years have been exciting times.
Many soccer fans will know that in 2020, Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the dying Wrexham AFC for the bargain price of $2 million (by comparison -- last year, the new San Diego team in the MLS was purchased for $500 million).
They then produced a documentary series called 'Welcome to Wrexham' on FX, which followed the story of the oldest club in Wales, its players and its working class fanbase.
Backed by these two actors and their investment, the team has since found new life, reinvigorating the entire city and community.
In fact, Wrexham AFC has even captured the hearts of many Americans like myself (I may or may not have paid $400 a ticket to see them play Manchester United in a friendly in San Diego last summer -- ouch!).
And upwards they go, recently promoted to League One.
But it's not all about soccer in Wrexham.
For Wrexham Uni, which is located literally next door to the stadium, there is a lot to be excited about, too.
Here are some of the highlights of my trip to campus in April 2023!
Wrexham University
Although it has been delivering education at the main campus since 1887, the university has undergone a number of name changes over the years before receiving official university status in 2008.
As one of the youngest universities in the UK, it was most recently known as Wrexham Glyndŵr University, after the Welsh scholar and hero Owain Glyndŵr.
However, the very day of my visit in 2023, the university announced it would soon be changing the name to just Wrexham University going forward.
This is not the only development to come out of there recently though; Wrexham Uni has an £80 million strategy called Campus 2025 to enhance the student experience and facilities.
Many projects have already been completed, like the new B Hive below, a social/learning space.
To make way for a brand new main building/reception, Students' Union and engineering building among others, many of the old buildings will actually be torn down.
One of the coolest facilities was the brand new Healthcare Simulation Centre for its allied health programs, such as nursing -- a program that is currently offering a bursary for a full scholarship and guaranteed two years of work post-graduation in Wales!
It also has mannequins that can be programmed to behave exactly like human patients with specific health conditions - a really effective way to train the healthcare practitioners of the future.
One of the most advanced pieces of equipment I've seen, however, is the one below, in which a full-body image of a human can be analyzed at the muscular and skeletal levels. It may look a little unusual, but it's an amazing - and extremely useful - piece of medical technology.
The images on the screen are actually taken from four real-life people who passed away and asked for their bodies to be donated to science (their faces have been changed for privacy reasons though).
This helps students determine the cause of death, and zoom in on particular areas of the muscular system or skeleton to investigate individual factors in more detail.
Wrexham also has a Centre for Creative Industries with 3D printer labs, podcasting rooms and more, perfect for Product Design students and others who want to let their creativity flow.
Although the engineering facilities will be getting a completely new look in the next couple years, the ones already on offer are quite advanced.
The aeronautical engineering department has its own flight simulator, which I was fortunate to be able to try out.
Spoiler alert -- I unfortunately crashed the plane. Sorry passengers!
I loved the automotive engineering lab, too, which had a whole range of vehicles, from formula 1 to luxury cars.
I also got to check out the modern library, the sports centre and the Students' Union, which happened to be hosting a Therapy Dogs gathering for students to relax and play with some fur balls before exams.
With around 6,000 students, Wrexham Uni is one of the smaller UK institutions.
This enables students to have a lot of access to their professors and as a result, a lot of support.
And for students wanting to live close by, Wrexham Village offers modern single-room ensuite accommodation -- with some pretty sweet views, too!
Located right next to the Wrexham AFC stadium, it sure makes going to either class or a game convenient!
The city of Wrexham
It wasn't until last year that Wrexham gained status as a city, becoming the seventh city in Wales.
And just one year later, it was already shortlisted as a City of Culture 2023.
Wrexham is also located in northeast Wales, which is starting to become known as the adventure capital of Europe with loads of outdoor activities for those seeking adrenaline thrills.
I drove along the stunning North Wales coastline en route from Bangor to Wrexham, and it was lush!
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to spend much time in the city, but there's no doubt that Wrexham AFC is now one of its main tourist draws.
Formed in 1864, it's actually the third oldest professional association football club in the world.
And no visit to Wrexham would be complete without a trip to the Wrexham AFC supporters' pub, The Turf, which is also right outside the stadium.
I was fortunate to become friends with a couple locals, Trev and Gwyn, who had been coming to this pub since they were first old enough to go to pubs (and, as they joked, even before they were old enough!).
As a soccer fan myself and someone who had watched the series, I felt like I was stepping onto a Hollywood set (which, after speaking to Trev and Gwyn, is what most people who watched the show think The Turf actually is!).
They even introduced me to the owner of the pub, Wayne Jones, who has featured regularly in the series.
Like all the other locals, he was extremely warm and down to earth despite being super busy fielding calls from Ryan Reynolds all the time!
Wayne said the last six months have been absolutely surreal.
What was surreal for me was when the documentary producers actually walked in to shoot some scenes and asked to interview us (check us out on Season 2 perhaps!).
Summary
As you'll see, it is an exciting time to be in Wrexham.
Whether you're a student at Wrexham University or a fan of soccer, the investment all around the place has injected life into what was once a heavily industrial city with a population of 130,000.
Its location in North Wales gives students access to stunning outdoor scenery and activities, and it's only about three hours on the train from London or one hour from Liverpool.
I can't wait to come back in a few years' time to see all the finished campus works; it will seem like a brand new university.
And who knows -- maybe those student dorms will be overlooking the stadium of a proper top tier Premier League team by then, too!
