I absolutely loved my time at College and some of my fondest memories in education took place on the campus. My favourite subject was Graphics as our learning covered such a wide range of areas while having a lot of fun: one day we’d be drawing, the next some photography and the next using Photoshop. Each lesson was different and exciting with valuable lessons that I took with me to university. My favourite lesson was a photoshoot with my best friend and some crazy props for us to design a (very professional) business card!
Overall, College had a great impact on my growth both professionally and personally. All my teachers were brilliant, teaching not only the skills and knowledge I needed but the resilience, dedication and confidence that’s enabled me to get where I am today. I’m immensely grateful for my time there and would do it all again if I could!
After College I went straight to university, choosing to continue with Graphic Design. Despite the step up in my studies, College thoroughly prepared me for the shift, both in terms of the workload and managing my independence. One thing I did find challenging was championing my own work. I spent the first few weeks comparing myself to others around me and I didn’t share my work openly as a result. But I found a great friend who encouraged me and praised me and my work, and it suddenly wasn’t as ‘bad’ as I thought. Scary as it was at first, I’m proud of the work I produced and the improvements I made during my time there.
After graduating with a First, I’ve now taken on a new challenge: finding my place in the incredible world of creative talent. Currently, I work part-time as a social media assistant for a dog influencer account. Securing this social media position was an interesting experience: I’m on LinkedIn, where I’d listed my personal book themed Instagram account among my experience. I received a message from Gary Alsakar, Founder of Marley NYC, who was looking to develop the Instagram account featuring his gorgeous service dog, a Golden Retriever called Marley. I obviously took steps to check the work was genuine and legitimate, but everything checked out, so I responded and was then invited to a video interview. When this went well, things just took off from there.
My role is doing the research, analysis and planning to determine the future content. I spend time each week working on each of these stages, writing up my findings and logging my ideas on shared spreadsheet. I then do a weekly video call to discuss and present my findings, so that Gary can select the ideas he wants to make and post, and we also agree any tasks for the following week. I get paid an hourly rate for all the work that I complete, no matter the success of the content or account, so I know what I’ve got coming in, and I top up my income with a retail job.
My research and analysis skills have greatly developed since starting this role, and I’m now able to identify which videos work best and the elements that make them engaging for the audience. I analyse likes, comments and any engagement between viewers in the comments and with the account itself.
When I started, we had lots of videos to share, which was great, but I found that they weren’t always achieving the engagement targets needed to be successful on Instagram. As I researched and found high-performing videos, I was able to present more successful ideas for Marley NYC: recently, a brand sponsor video I had helped to secure hit the 11 million views mark in just a few days – something I am very proud of.
My plan is to keep expanding my social media skills in this role and then broaden out to other marketing roles in the future.
I’m very excited for this next step in my creative journey. When I first left College, I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself to make the ‘right’ decision as to what I would do for the rest of my life, when in reality you can change your mind as many times as you like! I have greatly enjoyed trying out different roles in the design world, from creating presentations to learning how to re-brand a music store on my placement. Each opportunity gave me valuable lessons that I could take with me onto the next and the next and to every next step I take.
My advice would be to take every opportunity as it comes – you never know where you will find your calling. As daunting as it sounds try not to put yourself into a specific box when you leave College, keep open, try new things, and as long as you follow the path of what you enjoy then it will always be the right path!
Jessica Marvell
Reigate College: 2019-2021
Higher education: BA Graphic Design, University for the Creative Arts (Epsom)
Currently: Social Media Assistant, Marley NYC
