Derry's Mollie overcomes challenges to graduate from Queen’s

Mollie Egan-Crossan (22), from Derry, graduated from the School of Arts, English and Languages at Queen’s University Belfast with a 2:1 BA (Hons) in Film and Theatre Making at the weekend.  

Mollie, overcame mental health challenges during her time at University to graduate with her dream degree.  

Speaking about her experience, Mollie said: “At secondary school I was head girl, on the student council, setting up clubs to support women, and doing media interviews talking about current affairs. On paper, it made sense that I should thrive at university. 

“My first year was during the pandemic, along with personal struggles and relationship issues my mental health took a tumble. While I managed to pass all my classes, my attendance wasn't always great, and I never felt like I truly met any friends.” 

After a challenging start, Mollie was determined to get help and have a more enjoyable experience for the rest of her university journey.  

She continued: “In second year, I was ready to admit that I was depressed, and I decided to do something about it by speaking to a therapist which helped me a lot.  

“I then decided to join a society at Queen’s, the Musical Theatre Society, where I finally got to know people and the rehearsals broke the week up for me. Then in my second and third year I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone. I ended up being the course representative for my degree, and I joined the student blogging programme where I created YouTube videos and articles for the University.  

“I was actually able to help a few people from my old school navigate their first year at Queen's and reach people through my TikTok platform where I have 15,000 followers, giving them advice on beginning their university journey.”  

Talking about her favourite memory from her time at Queen’s, Mollie commented: “The most enjoyable experience was making my final project for my cinematography class in second year. The script chosen for the film was one I had written and as a result I got to try my hand at casting, directing, producing - seeing my vision come to life.

"Being on set for that and raising funding to pay the actors was a great experience. I finally felt more like my confident self, and it made me think that creative writing could be a good career avenue for me.” 

Looking ahead to her graduation day, Mollie added: “It feels very surreal to be graduating, my degree went by in the blink of an eye. I feel really proud, and I can’t wait to have my family standing on campus with me when I graduate.” 

After graduation, Mollie hopes to embark on her Master’s degree in Creative Writing at Queen’s.