What is your education background?

I completed my HND in Marketing at the City of Glasgow College then went directly into 3^rd year International Marketing at Glasgow Caledonian University. I graduated with a first class honours degree in 2021.

How did you start working at Star? / What brought you to Star?

I heard about an internship opportunity within the marketing department through a family member and I worked during summer of 1^st year of my marketing HND. I was invited back for internship opportunities during my 2^nd and 3^rd year and offered a job working 1 day a week during my final year of study.

What benefits have you found from your intern placement?

My placement has given me the opportunity to apply what I learn at university in the workplace, gaining practical experience. This is great for my CV and future employment.

The marketing team are supportive and expand my knowledge. For example, I have had access to industry software such as Adobe Creative Cloud that I don’t have access to through university.

What does your current role involve?

During my time working at Star, my role has evolved and I have gained more responsibility. I currently have a full time position of Marketing Coordinator that was offered to me upon completing my university degree. The highlight of my first placement was working on the ‘WES Lottie Tour’ Campaign. This was an initiative to generate interest in refrigeration engineering amongst young girls (primary school age). I visited Stirling curling rink which Star helped construct to conduct an interview with a top curling Paralympian about how the ‘world class’ ice helps their team to win games, as well as plan and schedule the campaign for the months ahead.

During my second placement I was responsible for the company’s social media, providing a more current insight in the different platforms using my knowledge from digital marketing modules at university. Some of my highlights have involved working on two projects: Star’s 50^th birthday focusing on PR, social media, corporate gifts and the website. Also Star’s involvement with cold chain events where I have assisted in creating the action plan including; social media, advertisements on the website and in industry publications which raised awareness of our sponsorship.

What do you enjoy most about what you have been working on, and what are the biggest challenges you face?

What I like most is being part of the marketing team and seeing the results of a campaign- in university you write plans but never get to see them being implemented. A big challenge for me during university was balancing work and studies but my manager is very flexible and understanding. The Covid-19 pandemic created a challenge because I had to be creative and find new ways of marketing to customers, all in person events Star were due to take part in were moved online or cancelled.

How long have you been working for Star? What do you like about working for the company?

I have worked at Star since 2018 and what I like the most is everyone is supportive, friendly, approachable and that the company encourages creativity. I also think there are lots of opportunities at Star to enhance your learning and work on exciting projects.

What type of role are you looking to develop into in future?

In the future I would like to be a marketing manager- that would be my end goal.