My name is Loreto De Luna and I am an international second-year student in Media, Industry and Innovation on a placement with the School of Art and Media, Employability and Placements Team.
When I found out that one of my modules involved a placement, the first thing I felt was fear. Since I was young, I have been a very shy person and everything new, especially if it involved meeting and relating to new people in big groups, I panicked. When I had to present something in class, all I could feel were butterflies. Over the years I have learned to remove that fear, or at least live with it, so now that I have finally discovered what I like to study and what I want to dedicate myself to, I decided to change my perspective and face the placement with desire and enthusiasm to make myself known, show what I could give and learn as much as I could about the sector I like.
Writing my CV, introductory emails, and everything involved in the preparation process was very easy thanks to the help of Maddie and Cherry, my Placements Officers. However, things changed when I had to make a phone call. I felt incredibly nervous every time I called and sometimes even did not call back again if there was no reply (awful on my part). I got very desperate when I felt I wasn’t expressing myself as well as I wanted to and overwhelmed when I saw that many companies rejected me or didn’t reply at all. The university makes it very easy for you in that sense because they constantly recommend and facilitate organisations that are looking for students going on a placement, which gives you many options. In fact, I found my placement a week before it started. Of course, one of the things I regret is not having started the search earlier.
Once the placement began, all those nerves and anxiety left, thankfully. One of the things I have learned and developed from the placement is the commitment and communication with your organisation. Offering help, informing about your progress and keeping up with team meetings are very important factors in an organisation. Also, it sounds very typical and easy to say but from this experience, I have learned to put myself out there by taking fear by the hand.
Ash, Maddie, and Cherry have made everything very easy for me and are absolutely lovely people, but I’ve been left wanting to explore a working environment that has nothing to do with university. I want to seek work in a company that could help me develop more of my skills focused on what I really like and open more industry connections. If I’d started the search sooner and contacted more companies, it would surely have been possible. The placement has been an eye-opener for me regarding the path I want to take after university, and although it hasn’t been through digital projects, I’ve reinforced my passion for reaching out to people with my work.
Senior Lecturer, Iestyn George, once told us: “It’s not like you live under a bridge. You have accomplished many things in your life. Finding a placement is going to be a piece of cake”. This phrase got stuck in my head. As Iestyn said, I’ve accomplished many things over time starting with the fact that I am attending a university outside my home country. It was his speech that made me think “how bad can making a phone call be?” and I hope this sticks with you too.
So, good luck to everyone thinking of or looking for a placement!! Take the advice of a girl who was discouraged by everything at first, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there!!!
