Alexandra

Widening Participation and Schools Engagement Intern, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Give a quick snapshot of your role.

Luckily, my role is very varied and I’m enjoying it very much. Some of the projects I’m working on involve organising and running events for school students such as Animal Research and Discover Days, writing articles to communicate the Faculty’s social responsibility efforts, producing content for the BMH social responsibility website and designing e-newsletters, coordinating a schools visit programme in Greater Manchester and conducting research to map the activity and the areas of expertise of my colleagues in the Faculty.

Why did you choose MGT?

I was aware of MGT long before I applied for my current position from my friends who successfully secured a job through the scheme. Having heard only good things about the programme and being reluctant about graduate schemes, I decided to give MGT a go and have not regretted my decision ever since.

How have you benefitted from your MGT?

For me, the most educative and valuable aspect of my job is interacting with lecturers and researchers in the Faculty. The wide variety of activities people do here apart from teaching and grading papers is overwhelming. I learnt about so many interesting projects that inspired me to be more conscious about the world around me and challenged me to think more strategically about what I want to do next. Developing skills like research, events management and communication has also been beneficial, but having the chance to work with people who make a difference for the better, comes out on top.

What advice would you give someone considering MGT?

If you are torn between an MGT and a higher paying job at a well-known company my advice would be to choose the MGT. Although money and status are important, there is plenty of time to achieve both. Now is the time to explore what type of job would be a good fit for you and to develop as many skills as possible while earning enough money to pay your bills and enjoy graduate life. You might find out that you enjoy working a 9 to 5 schedule or that you totally hate it. MGT is not the easy route into your future career, is the smart one.

What are your plans for the future?

Although Manchester has been my home for almost 4 years, I felt I should make a change of scenery and get out of my comfort zone. Hence, I’ve recently applied for a European Ambassador position with a French volunteering organisation. If everything goes well I will spend my next year in Bordeaux trying to brush up my French and then hopefully start a Master degree in Neuroscience.