My growth at Salford Business School and how it prepared me for a future career in marketing.

The seed

Leaving college in 2018, I assured myself I would never re-enter the education system again. I’ve worked in hospitality for 7 years and always excelled in each role, growing avidly, surrounded by new faces and stories, whether it being with those within the industry or talking to the customers.  I played the roles of assistant manager, social media marketing manager, photographer, and content writer—essentially, wearing multiple hats simultaneously. 

Here is where I rediscovered my love for marketing, I was always obsessed with TV adverts, product packaging, and website design and this enthusiasm remains unchanged. My friends and family still claim I’m every marketer’s ideal target – at least now I am conscious of it!

The branching

When applying for ‘Business Management with Marketing’ my goal was to use the acquired skills to establish and market my own restaurant after gaining experience and social media skills within this field.

My passion for marketing started to develop after completing one of my early modules, "Mobile, Media, Marketing." with Mirage Islam, a lecturer who has inspired me, with his experience, knowledge, and enthusiasm for his work. Our goal was to build a social media campaign to raise awareness about an important issue, we chose ‘Greenwashing’.

I hadn’t heard of it before, and this made me even more excited, I dove in headfirst, determined to build an inspirational campaign. I used my student loan to buy a new MacBook, downloaded Adobe software and taught myself to use Photoshop and Illustrator to build an eBook, called 100% Greenwashed, alongside planning a social media campaign. We received a mark of 94/100 for that assignment.

I’d never been so passionate about anything educational, this was a pivotal moment for me, and I recognised this was something I was good at.

In my second year of university, the 'Marketing Communications' module with Dr Angela Byrne was another favourite. Here we learned about the theoretical aspects of marketing and let me tell you, there is a lot. Now while I fixate on the adverts, I have the knowledge to analyse them. In this module, Angela suggested that pursuing a Master's and PhD in Marketing might be a path worth considering. Her encouragement has inspired me to seriously contemplate this academic journey in the future.
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The flowering

Throughout my time at Salford Business School, I’ve put my heart and soul into every module. Last May I received an email about an exciting opportunity, “As one of our highest-performing students, we're offering you a student mobility visit to Vietnam!”.

I stared at the screen for some time before I could comprehend the reality of the situation. I’ve never strayed too far out of my comfort zone unless very carefully considered and analysed beforehand.

However, at this stage in my university experience, I met and worked with many amazing people who crafted me into this ambitious person, whom I wouldn’t have recognised initially.

Before realising, I was wheeling my (meticulously packed) suitcase into Manchester Airport ready to embark on a 14+ hour journey to a continent I had never entered before with students I didn’t know. We got to meet students at the British University of Vietnam, have a personal tour of the amazing places around Hanoi, meet the CEO of an international company and most of all experience this with newfound friends from my university.

A once in a lifetime opportunity that I will be forever grateful to have been a part of. I truly found myself there, this University has taught me all of what I was capable of to which I would never have been aware otherwise.

The ripening

More recently we have been blessed (by Mirage again) with the opportunity to have Guest lectures from Essencemediacom, discussing every pathway within marketing, such as: Paid Search, Affiliate and Programmatic display Marketing

Before this module, I was slightly concerned about what would happen when I finally received my diploma and waved goodbye to the comforting four walls of the Maxwell Building. While eager to complete my degree, the prospect of stepping into the unknown was somewhat daunting. However, when the aspirational individuals from Essencemediacom spoke about their journey the nerves developed into excitement, realising that their journey could be a blueprint for my own.