My course and when I graduated

I studied BA American Studies at The University of Manchester and graduated in 2022. I was in my first year when the pandemic began, so much of my university experience was spent studying remotely from home in London. I didn’t return to campus until the final term of my third year, which made my experience quite different from what I had expected when I first started.

My current role

I’m currently an Account Executive in the advertising team at The Guardian, a role I started in 2024. Before joining The Guardian, I spent a year studying at the School of Communication Arts after receiving a scholarship through Brixton Finishing School. That experience gave me valuable insight into the media industry and helped me begin my career in advertising.

As an Account Executive, I work within the Sales team, focusing primarily on campaign administration and operational support. I work with clients and media agencies to coordinate advertising campaigns across both print and digital platforms, support account managers with campaign preparation, produce post-campaign analysis presentations, and help manage a wide range of day-to-day requests. I’m also part of the D&I team that works creating events, workshops, resources and more to celebrate the various religious, faith-based, and historical multi-cultural moments throughout the year.

I’m naturally very organised and enjoy solving problems, so I love that every day brings something new. My role allows me to improve processes, support my team, and continually learn new skills, which is one of the things I enjoy most about it.

Future career aspirations

I’m really enjoying my current role, although I’ve realised that my strengths lie more in the operational and organisational side of the business than in client-facing sales. I’m naturally methodical and enjoy creating efficient processes, so I’d like to build on those strengths as my career develops.

Learning about the wide variety of careers within the media industry through Brixton Finishing School, alongside my experience at The Guardian, has inspired me to pursue project management in the future when the right opportunity comes along.

How my course prepared me for the role 

Although my degree wasn’t directly related to advertising, it gave me a number of transferable skills that I use every day. American Studies involved researching complex topics, analysing information from different perspectives, communicating ideas clearly, and managing multiple deadlines independently. Those skills have helped me stay organised, think critically, and approach problems with confidence.

Beyond my career, I also really enjoyed the breadth of the course. It gave me a much wider understanding of history, politics and culture, which has stayed with me long after graduating and continues to shape how I think about current events and the world around me. Working at The Guardian especially, I am very environmentally conscious and the beginning of my understanding of the climate crisis started from a course I took in third year which shaped a lot of my views, so it holds a special place in my heart. I also do creative writing and use a lot of what I learned as material. It’s also great for pub quizzes here and there.

The support I had from The University of Manchester

Despite much of my degree taking place during the pandemic, I always appreciated the support and encouragement from my lecturers and mentors throughout the course. They were approachable, passionate, and created an environment where we were encouraged to think critically and explore different perspectives. That curiosity and willingness to keep learning has stayed with me beyond university.

Tips/advice for offer holders

Don’t worry if you don’t have your entire career planned out before you graduate. It’s completely normal for your interests and goals to change once you start working.

Take every opportunity to gain experience outside your degree, whether that’s internships, volunteering, networking events or short courses. Those experiences helped me discover an industry I genuinely enjoy and gave me a much clearer idea of the type of work that suits my strengths.

Most importantly, enjoy your time at university. It goes by much faster than you expect, so make the most of both the academic experience and everything university has to offer.

Written by Natalie Bankole, a BA American Studies (2022) graduate. 

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