When I look back at my time at Bournemouth University, it instantly brings a smile to my face and makes me feel nostalgic about four of the best years in my life.  Four years which have helped shape my life, my career and the people I chose to have close to me.

I studied Leisure Marketing, a course which helped develop key marketing skills in a leisure perspective.  The variety of this course meant that the career choices after graduation were endless.  Many of my friends work in a variety of sectors such as events, sales, marketing and even finance – getting a taster for all these different areas was a way in which I could choose what career path I wanted to follow.

My placement year was most definitely a pivotal point in my time at BU. I actually worked for the university as part of their outreach team, educating and giving advice to students who were thinking about life after sixth form or college.  This team does the greatest work and I am very proud to have been a part of it and work with some amazing and inspiring people.

After university I tried a couple of different jobs, which didn’t work out for one reason or another.  It’s hard to know what direction you want to go in.  If you can find someone to mentor you at the start of your career, keep them close because they will help you more than you can ever imagine.

I now work as a Marketing and Operations Executive for an online gaming company and have lived in London for the past three years.  I am about to embark on the next stage of my career which will be on the sunny shores of Spain.  This is a brand new challenge for me, and I hope that it will be the first of many more exciting opportunities.  Three years after leaving BU I am still learning, still figuring out where I want to go and who I want to be, but without having the experience of university I might not be the person I am now.

Treasure your moments at BU.  The friends you make, the hangovers you may suffer and even the late night library sessions you have to endure.  If you make mistakes, learn from them.  Try something new and always follow your gut instinct.  It is all a learning curve; I guess that is just the beauty of it all.

By Lauren Wood