Oops - It's been a while!

I am alive! Since it has been such a long time, here's a hefty blog post to let you know what I've been up to in my year long hiatus.

Second year has begun, meaning there’s lots of new and exciting things happening. As a commuter, I felt quite distant and detached from university life during the first semester of last year. Although not a naturally quiet person, it surprised me that I felt shy and under confident in my abilities to join societies, make friends and get involved with projects. After christmas, I decided I needed step outside my comfort zone and push myself to do more- and it was the best thing I ever did!

Firstly, I secured myself a 2 week work placement at 8848 – a creative communications and PR agency.

Then, I applied for the BBC Doctors placement scheme offered by BCU. Ordinarily, I’d have not applied out of the fear of failure. This time, I told myself ‘you have a better a chance if you apply, than if you don’t apply at all’. Two weeks later, I was shortlisted for an interview, which really boosted my confidence. That was an achievement in itself. Even better, I got the placement!

With two achievements under my belt, I was on a roll. I saw Global Radio were advertising for people to join their street team. This one took a bit more convincing from friends and family, but after my previous success, I decided to just go for it. And I got the job! I love working for Global, not only are they flexible with uni, they also make you feel part of a team. As many of us in the street team are aiming for a career in the media, everyone at Global is happy to speak to you, offer advice and even give you the chance to gain experience with them. I’ve made some great friends too, a lot of whom are on my course at uni. As I said earlier, as a commuter I’ve found it difficult at times to feel as though I’m forming solid friendships. Working at Global has really helped this!

All in all, its been a really exciting few months. My two week placement at 8848 confirmed my love for PR and was great in helping me to put some of the things I learnt in first year into practice. It can be daunting to turn up somewhere unfamiliar first thing on a Monday morning, but everyone made me feel extremely welcome and ensured I had a fantastic time.

I also loved my time working on BBC Doctors. TV dramas are my favourite thing to watch and if I were to work in TV, I think that’s the area I would want to specialise in. It was really exciting to be able to go out on location to film, as I gained experience as a runner and got to speak to lots of people within the industry. I also spent time in post production, where I edited some of the scenes for episodes due to be aired in November. I was sold on a career in PR after my first placement, but I’ve always loved editing. My time at the BBC threw a real spanner in the works!!

I’m really keen to continue taking as many opportunities as possible this year. Only two weeks in and I’ve already joined Eastside PR and signed up to have an industry mentor. I cannot believe how many amazing and valuable experiences I could have let pass me by just from a lack of self belief. I pay a lot of money for university, so I want to make the most of everything that’s on offer. There is so much more to gain than just a degree, you just have to be willing to put in a bit of effort and take a few leaps of faith.

Nicole 😀