Work experience can help you become a Brighton’s Titan

With our Brighton’s Titans campaign, the University is looking to highlight the achievements of just a few of our notable alumni.

Coming from all kinds of backgrounds and a wide range of subject areas, our Titans have one thing in common: they have all made the most of their time at Brighton and used the university as a springboard to launch them on remarkable careers.

Take Wesley Ankrah, for instance. He came to Brighton as a mature student to get a degree in Criminology and Sociology. Over the course of his studies, he discovered a passion for youth justice and fighting social inequality. “By the time I completed the course, I found that my perception of social issues facing people, in particular young people, had changed dramatically,” he says.

Wesley found his degree experience at Brighton extremely stimulating. “The SASS department were excellent,” he remembers, “the lectures and seminars were engaging and challenging, the teaching staff were dynamic and vibrant, and the facilities on campus were great.”

In particular, he gained a great deal of insight from work experience he carried out as part of his Continued Professional Development module in year 2. The youth engagement project where he was placed taught him valuable real-world skills and gave him an understanding of the procedures and policies required when working with young and vulnerable people.

This, in turn, was Wesley’s springboard into his first role in youth charity and engagement work, where his ambition and his passion for the subject truly flourished. Just four years after graduating from Brighton, he was director of a community interest company – Essential Living Future, whose aim is to improve the lives of disadvantaged people and communities in London.

Any kind of work experience gained through your degree can be invaluable, as Wesley’s career proves. No matter what your course of study, the Careers Service is here to help you gain experience in your chosen career and increase your chances of employment after graduation.

If you want to be part of the next crop of Brighton’s Titans, your first step should be contacting the Careers Service on your campus, and sitting down with an adviser to discuss where you are now, and where you want to be.