MANY students find themselves moving a long way from home when they go to university but Georgina Lloyd will be travelling nearly 3,300 miles.
The 18-year-old has finished her A levels in law, religious studies and business studies at Haslingden High School and will be leaving Rossendale on August 1 for a new life in America.
She was accepted by all seven universities she applied to, five in the UK and two in the US, but she selected Quinnipiac University and has enrolled on a five year degree course studying political science with a minor in journalism.
Her dad Paul has been spending three weeks out of four working in Connecticut for around 10 years.
Her mum Catherine is a teaching assistant at Northern Primary School in Weir, but she is also leaving Rossendale for America.
Georgina said: “My mum would have been on her own for three weeks at a time. My brother Shaun now lives and works in London, and with me going to university in America she decided to move too.
“The university I have picked is the best for the course that I want to do. They organise all the polls for the local elections and have a really good political programme.”
Although her parents will only be 30 minutes from the university in Milford, the former Member of the Youth Parliament will be living on campus in a dormitory with three other American students.
She had already been on a two-day induction course and is looking forward to starting at Quinnipiac on August 24.
The first year will be spent on core subjects, English, maths and Spanish, followed by three years of a degree and a final Masters year.
Her family have funded the first year and, if she excels in the subjects, she may be able to get a scholarship to offset some of the costs of subsequent years.
Georgina was diagnosed with type one diabetes when she was nine, which requires two types of insulin four times a day. She has to monitor her blood sugar levels.
She said: “In the UK the NHS takes care of all my medication, but in America I will need health insurance and the cost of the medication is very expensive.
“That is why I have decided to study for five years to do a Masters, because then I hope to be able get a better job when I finish.
“I would like to be a political correspondent in Washington, Boston or maybe London.
“I was confident enough to know I wanted to go to university, but I knew I was not at the level for Oxford or Cambridge.
“I went on a tour of universities in America, just as my friends at home toured UK universities. With my dad we went to Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut and all down the coast.
“My friends are excited for me and very supportive. They are already planning trips to visit me.”
Although she said she would miss British food and her family in Rossendale, Georgina added: “I am more excited about the opportunity than worried about what I will miss.”