Please describe your career to date.
After graduating, the student body elected me onto the Student Officer Sabbatical Team. I served as Vice President of Student Media and Engagement for a year, enabling me to gain crucial experience in marketing, communications, multimedia platforms, event management and PR. After leaving KCLSU I worked for three months as a consultant for a charity called Trust Thamesmead, assessing its impact and monitoring platforms.
Getting to grips with customer relationship management and data increased my interest in marketing and I then took up the post as Marketing and Communications Officer at the Kent Football Association. I worked at the Kent FA for 18 months, delivering on the organisation’s strategic aims whilst contributing at ground level to deliver daily messages through all channels including the website, social media, email marketing and external partners. I developed my portfolio working with commercial organisations, sharpened my skills within the industry and gained further experience within sport event management. Aged 23, I took up the post of Head of Marketing and Communications at Gillingham Football Club.
I now oversee the football club’s strategy for engaging and interacting with external and internal stakeholders. It is my responsibility to develop and create platforms to enhance the football club’s reputation within a number of segments. Commercially, I support the club to design new packages to increase income and support.
What has been the most interesting or exciting experience in your work?
Working within the football industry, every day presents its own interesting and exciting experiences. You can plan a day but often things change within the blink of the eye, so you have to be very adaptable, alert and able to think on your feet; all qualities I believe I developed during my time studying at King’s. The challenge of being able to satisfy a range of objectives, balancing them all and optimising opportunities is a really exciting part of my job, and again, one that I correlate to the time I spent at King’s.
In what ways did your time at King’s influence you?
King’s influenced me in a number of ways. Firstly, it exposed me to a huge variety of people from different backgrounds, with different opinions, beliefs, interests and passions. Being surrounded by such people developed me as a student and as a person. I left university as a much better rounded individual with a fantastic network of intelligent, driven and talented friends (who I still keep in contact with). King’s taught me how to be able to interact with anyone, a skill I find very useful within my work.
King’s influenced me practically as well - with all the challenges of balancing studies with playing sport, being part of the student media body and volunteering. Opportunities are abundant at King’s and being part of the vibrant community certainly geared me up to excel in my career after graduating. Finally, studying and being part of the diverse community within London influenced me immeasurably. London is a wonderful city to study and live in, and it’s a challenging and inspiring environment to be in. I certainly believe the four years I had as part of the KCL corner in London helped shaped me to be more independent, self-sufficient and organised.
Is there anywhere on campus or in London that holds any special memories of your university days, or do you have a favourite memory from your time at King’s?
I have many wonderful memories from across the several beautiful campuses King’s has and that’s part of the charm of studying there. The Strand, Guy's, Waterloo and Denmark Hill all have their own unique buzz and to be able to fluidly travel around them all with your friends and fellow students is amazing. I was fortunate enough to be asked to speak at my graduation ceremony at the Barbican Centre which was one of my proudest moments. It perfectly concluded part of my life I treasure and one I look back on fondly.
What advice would you give to students and alumni for success in life after King’s?
I think any graduate from King’s will be in a very advantageous position. By being a KCL graduate, most employers know what kind of person they are employing and investing in. King’s alumni are often driven, self-motivated, and well-rounded individuals who probably do not need much advice from me! However, one tip I would suggest is for alumni to utilise the skills and traits developed throughout their studies to drive forward into their next chapter. Keep the momentum going!
Who or what has been most inspirational to you in your life?
I’ve been fortunate to have met a lot of inspirational people, particularly throughout my time at King’s. The friends I met studying at King’s are still some of the closest people to me. I find the way their careers have taken off, how they conduct themselves and continue to develop as individuals truly inspiring and incredibly motivating. And then, of course, there’s my Mum!