Northampton University 2011/12

LOOKING BACK AT THREE WONDERFUL YEARS

Hello, I don’t do personal blogs normally now, well not since I stopped updating this website on a regular basis before Christmas 2011. 

However, the marking of the end of a productive and at times, traumatic three years at University meant I couldn’t resist sharing some of my memories, mainly from the past year but a small round-up too of the last three in total.

A week has now passed since the graduation ceremony for my journalism degree at the University of Northampton.  It has taken time for everything to sink in, knowing that I left with a 2:1 final result.  It was my target when I set out on this journey, so it is mission accomplished.

There is a great deal of pride, relief and joy but also tinged with sadness.  I have met some very special people in the past three years.  To not see the majority on a regular basis anymore is going to be tough to take and there have been plenty of great memories.

The graduation ceremony

Before the ceremony, which was at the Derngate Theatre in Northampton last Wednesday, I was incredibly nervous.  I don’t really know why, I guess the whole thing was a bit too much. 

The ceremony itself was a fantastic occasion and it was a real privilege to graduate with the people that I’d got to know over the past three years.  There was a lot of clapping, some wooing and a general sense of excitement and nerves from all of us graduating.

When I went upto get my award, I wasn’t too sure whether I needed to look in a particular direction, especially when you know that the ceremony is being streamed live around the world, potentially to people watching from Belarus, Venezuela or Thailand! 

My graduation certificate, a lovely honour to have!

There was relief when my name was pronounced correctly, although it isn’t the hardest to get wrong I must admit!  Then, shaking hands with the vice-chancellor, Nick Petford and not knowing whether it was left or right hand to go for.  (My left is the stronger).  Then, you got your certificate and it was back to your seat, all over in a flash.

After all the awards, the national anthem played out and it was embarrassing to only know the final line of ‘God Save the Queen.’  I’ve always preferred the Spanish or Italian anthems anyway and then, it was back to Park Campus for some champagne or four in my case and meeting and greeting others.

Two lecturers that helped me massively, Hilary Scott & Richard Hollingum

I had my photo taken with all the lecturers and with some of my fellow graduates and everyone should be proud of their results.  The Journalism Group of 2012 has a first class award member.

Congratulations to Farida Zeynalova, who worked so hard and is the biggest perfectionist I’ve ever met.  Then, so many of us got 2:1 or 2:2 and as far as I’m concerned, any degree result has to be seen as a magnificent achievement throughout the course.

The graduation suit wasn’t the most attractive and it could have been a bit more creative but what else could have been expected?  By the time I had to hand everything back in, I felt sad that I wasn’t able to take one item away with me, just for the memories.

It was a memorable day and I only counted about five people who weren’t there, with 30 graduating on the day.  Well done everyone.

My work

Normally, this page would be to show off all my work but actually, a lot of our third year pieces were essay based, combined with a 5000 word dissertation.

It was a great turnaround from me, as at Christmas time, the chances of myself achieving a 2:1 looked slim to nil.  Luckily, I knuckled down and got the job done.

My favourite piece of work and the one I look back on the most with delight was the ten minute TV documentary I did.  Whilst the majority of students, focused on a 32-page magazine, I decided to do a TV piece and I was very happy with this choice.

The process was hard, there were frustrations of course and the amount of paperwork I submitted was mind-boggling but I think my documentary told a story and it got a grade I was delighted with well and truly.

Thank you to those who contributed, whether that was in face-to-face interviews, critical feedback or filling out my online survey questionnaire.  I spent a lot of time putting it all together in the second half of the year and reckon I’ve done myself justice with it.  View ‘Modern Technology’ below.

The most surprising piece of work I enjoyed was putting together the radio packages.  Radio was the bane of most and I must admit the 9am lectures were never any fun.  Once the practical side of it was released, it felt better and together with two students on the course, Lauren Bowen and Miles Aitkenhead, we spent two days in April putting the whole process together. 

This was two of our own individual packages, combined with teasers, background announcements, intros, outros and recorded commercials.  It was a pleasure to work with Lauren and Miles; they were the best group I worked with and it was the final group project too.

Our final package, which was recorded and put together in April 2012, is called ‘The Current Affairs Show’ and you can download our radio show by following the link.

The worst piece of work in year three was the group project featuring motorsport as the main topic and especially, a trip to Silverstone for a media day before the final round of the 2011 British Touring Car Championship.

Motorsport is one of my pure loves, so this could have been a real tactical advantage but sometimes, working on your strengths puts more pressure on and the result doesn’t come together.  It never did for me.  I worked on a magazine, when I should have done something else.  I didn’t get involved in the media day and seemed more interested in staying quiet.  I guess I was trying to hide a persona and I really shouldn’t have. 

In the project itself, we worked in groups of four/five, with two doing magazine, two doing TV and one focusing on radio.  It was a good group but it never clicked together.  I was affected too much by a couple of motorsport deaths and even did a disturbing ‘Death on Motorsport’ page for the ‘Vroooooom’ magazine.  Hindsight is a wonderful thing but that project was the worst in year three and by some distance.  

The people

Have I met a better group of people in my life?  Absolutely not!

We enjoyed some wild nights out together, endured some interesting debates and discussions on our Facebook group thread and more often than not, would help each other out should there be a miscommunication issue.

Of course, we all have friends who we were closer with and this is no exception for me.  There were some who I could rely on but I hope the diverse mix was a good thing for everyone.  There were a wide range of personalities from football nuts and fashion lovers, to those obsessed with TOWIE, food in general or music singers and film stars.

We all had our own skills too, better at some than others.  I think only two or three people liked doing radio but some were stronger at that, others preferred talking to a camera, some were stronger at features and others were, generally good at everything.

Some great nights out: Richard, Stef & Emily enjoy this shot!

We had some great nights out too, as the likes of Balestra, Fever and NB’s had to deal with the madness that was the journalism group.  There is no doubt we all liked a stiff drink and in my case, a mad dance along the way.  I’ve had compliments about my dancing, which I find slightly odd!

Then, there were those friends who were always there for you, even when you were at your lowest.  I’m sure there was times when the entire group had wobbles when it wasn’t going right and you either wanted to punch a wall, or breakdown in tears, or just swear excessively to ease the sheer frustration. 

I won’t lie, I had some breakdowns along the way and I wasn’t perfect.  Sometimes, as one of the older students on the course, I felt like I had to set an example and on occasion, my behaviour didn’t live up to those standards.  However, it goes along with my philosophy in life, which remains; ‘Everyone makes mistakes, that’s why they put erasers on pencils!’

Me and Tamika had a great friendship based on trust

There are people who I’ll never forget for one reason or another.  Farida was the most hard-working, Tamika was the one who I spent the most time with and the one student I could trust the most, when it came to anything.  Stef was definitely the funniest person I came across, whilst Shamina’s party girl lifestyle is something I know I’m going to miss a lot.

Then, there was Tom, who was the organiser when it came to journalism nights on the town and he likes a good football discussion, as does Richard.  Amy was amazing to me; she is the queen of radio and still is old-fashioned when it comes to technology.  ‘SACK THE TABLETS’ is something I will remember for a long time.

Lauren was the most organised, I won’t forget Emily’s smile in a hurry, Josie is the best at taking a brilliant photograph, Chris is one of the nicest people I’ve ever come across and Ellie was no doubt, the sweetest and most amazing friend of everyone.

Me and Tom: Who said Liverpool and Man United fans don't mix!

The fact is, I’ve met some wonderful people.  Realistically, it will be difficult to stay in touch with absolutely everyone but I do generally hope that is possible.  Not forgetting the lecturers, who got criticised, including from me in the past but were always there for a helping hand in the final year.  If I didn’t have the support of these people, I know my result won’t have been at all possible.

In a media world that continues to change, with the advances in technology plus the lack of trust in general following last year’s phone hacking scandal, there are a lot of talented journos out there, who can and probably will make the grade.

I wish everyone the best for the future and as the final line goes in one of my favourite songs; ‘Goodbye Kiss’ by Kasabian, ‘I hope someday we will meet again.’

The journalism group of 2009-2012 at UoN: We did it!

It’s been a rollercoaster full of ups and downs and I will never forget the University of Northampton journalism class of 2012, we rocked!  Looking forward to the eventual reunion!

Me

Finally, what have I learned throughout the three years?

I arrived at University with a BTEC National Diploma in Media Production and believing I could achieve something on this degree.  However, I was cocky, arrogant, always put myself first which is probably why I only stayed in touch with one person from the college days.

A life-changing incident three years ago certainly changed my outlook and perspective on life.  I enjoyed helping people and I feel I have improved, not only as a journalist but also, as an individual.

I’m more confident, my technical skills have slowly improved and my understanding of facts, law (surprisingly!) and questions that need answering have got better. 

Of course, there were moments where I got it wrong and still, I need to improve my handling of constructive criticism.  I make such a drama out of most things; I could end up in Casualty!  (That’s the BBC show, not A&E itself!) 

And as I was told by one student before we finished, I over think things too much.  That’s true too but all I want to do is impress people with what I go onto achieve in the future, whatever that may be.

I’m currently doing an online internship with Total Football Magazine and it is going really well.  All my articles can be seen at the website address; http://siwri88totalfootball.blogspot.co.uk/  

Ultimately, the experience has been one I wouldn’t swap for anything else.  It is a sad goodbye to the people I have studied, partied and socialised with for the past three years. 

I won’t miss Northampton too much but I will miss the people, the course and the independence of living on your own, like I did. 

It is onwards and upwards now and there will be plenty of chapters to come in my story, fingers crossed, towards success in the future.