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Hollie Ward

Graduated 2017

English graduate, Hollie Ward

English is my passion – I decided aged 12 that I wanted to do a degree in English, studying poetry and Shakespeare, and I loved every second of it.

Throughout my time at Solent, I worked as a student ambassador, and became involved in many of the other student roles in the University. This included working in widening participation and access – going into schools and delivering lessons. I also worked as a books and stories mentor (as part of the SUN programme), where I worked with nine students, aged 10, who were disengaged with reading. I visited them with another mentor once a week, and we did everything from lesson plans to reward schemes.

I have picked up a lot of freelance work along the way, including events managing, teaching and photography. I decided to try out events managing on a larger scale, and I now work in communications and engagement as an events assistant. All of these things were such great opportunities, and things I would never have been able to do if I hadn’t come to university.

There’s no such thing as a typical day when you work in events! It usually involves liaising with lots of different people, whether internal or external. I have to do everything from booking rooms, to social media, catering forms, selling tickets and writing articles on the intranet.

I can even get out my camera from time-to-time and photograph the events, which is great. I go to a lot of meetings, and have found a whole new side to the University that I never knew existed!

If you love reading and want lecturers who are really passionate about their subject, this is the course for you. English is a fantastic subject; so versatile, and valuable to any sector.

Take advantage of the opportunities that people are giving you now, make sure your voice gets heard and people know who you are/what you can do. Pick up all of the experience that you can, and really get yourself out there. Listen to the feedback people give you, and really take it on board. Also, don’t ever be afraid to ask questions. Learning is such a valuable thing, and you’ll never stop, so make the most of it!