I’ve been working for the News and Media department here one day a week for six weeks now so we thought it was about time, just before Christmas, to have a think about how its been going. As a PR student at Leeds Met, I started this year (final year, where’s that’s gone?!) needing to find a placement and some work experience. Over the past two years I’ve managed to get a couple of bits of work experience but these have both been agency based, so I fancied a bit of a change and wanted to look more in-house. The university seemed a logical option, seeing as I’m here anyway, and have the added bonus of being able to walk in from home.
Although only one day a week, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to my teeth into a couple of little projects and lend a hand where possible. Working on the magazine has been good fun and is definitely something that I’d like to continue with in the future. I managed to make a few (small) contributions to the magazine and was even given the opportunity to attend the CIPR awards in November supporting the team in their nomination for Best Magazine. Unfortunately we didn’t win but award evenings are always fun, especially when free food is thrown into the mix, so let’s hope we get that opportunity again.
Last week was the Winter Graduation and I was fortunate enough to be around while that was going on. This gave me a chance to see the goings on on a day like that, and hopefully, a taster of my own graduation this summer! It was great to help out and speak to a few graduates about their experiences at Leeds Met and what they plan for the future.
I’ve enjoyed working on a range of different topics in the short time I’ve been here and not being used as a tea boy (not actually drinking tea might be a contributing factor), and in comparison with other placements I’ve had I’ve got a few good pieces for my portfolio already. It’s certainly been a good way to spend my Fridays (although I’m a bit gutted to not be able to stay up and watch the Ashes on a Thursday night) and to get an idea to what goes on behind the scenes at the university.
I hope to continue into the New Year and get involved in some more projects in the future.
Andrew Carroll
BA (Hons) Public Relations
