You know it’s something interesting when Cathy texts you
“Are you free on 22nd March? I’ll explain later.”
I think I replied with “That sounds ominous!” and when we were next in the office together she told me about the BBC contacting her regarding sharing our business story to students to inspire them in their future careers. Part of a new initiative called BBC Share Your Story. With my background in teaching, Cathy said I was perfect for it. Flattering and a little daunting!
BBC Share Your Story
To mark its centenary in 2022, the BBC has launched Share Your Story. They hold special interactive assemblies for 2
50,000 secondary school students across the UK. Share your Story will bring a diverse group of 100 BBC Storytellers into schools across the UK, to share stories of their personal journeys, setbacks and successes. BBC Storytellers include relatable and inspiring BBC staff and well-known BBC stars from TV, Radio, Sport and News.
The Beautiful North Yorkshire Coast
I was pleased to find out that I would be talking at a school in Whitby. One of my favourite places! I drove over on the night before, staying in the neighbouring town of Scarborough. Waking up on the morning of the event with the sun rising over the sea was a wonderful start to the day.
Back to School
After leaving a 12-year career in teaching five years ago, it was my first time back in a school setting. Caedmon College is a lovely school with beautiful old buildings. I met my fellow panellists: Sanchez Payne, a BBC Radio Leeds DJ and Neil Fitzpatrick, Creative Director of Fitzpatrick Design. The BBC team were fantastic at preparing us. Our host Ross Fiddes, plus researchers Liam and Amy were fantastic and it was such a fun team to be part of for the day.
There were three sessions throughout the day: Year 10 (ages 14/15), Year Eight (ages 12/13) and Year 7 (ages 11/12). The final session was the most lively! All the students listened intently to our stories regarding our careers and asked some fantastic questions. I told them about events, visiting clients, getting to know the brands and creating content in all sorts of forms!
Inspirational People
I know we were supposed to be there to inspire others but I felt inspired by the end of the day. Sanchez and Neil were amazing people to be around with lots of knowledge, experience and many motivating quotes! All three of us were similar in that we had all had a career change and I believe that was good for the students to hear about. There is so much focus on knowing what you want to do after school for the rest of your life but they need to know it isn’t always forever if you don’t want it to be.
Thank you
I need to thank Cathy for putting me forward for this. It was a little out of my comfort zone and I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I really enjoyed the day, made some new connections and (hopefully) inspired a few young people too!
]You can see more photos and videos from my day on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram!
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Becka 🧡