Alumni share their wisdom with our students in careers conference
Christ the King students past and present came together recently for a careers conference with a difference.
Thursday 19th March saw approximately 1,500 students took part in the annual CTK Careers Conference, most of whom are studying Level 3 A Level and BTEC courses at the College. The conference provided a careers and university exhibition for over 90 exhibitors, including former students, along with a series of progression guidance workshops, each lasting 45 minutes. The workshops were varied and included general sessions about progression to Higher Education as well as the application process and talks from employers regarding specific careers as well as other general career talks from external agencies.
The event saw CTK alumni from all manner of industries return to their former college to speak to our students about their career.
Talks were taking place throughout the day, with our students getting a valuable insight into the world of work from those who were once in their position. For the alumni, it was a chance to see their old college again and use their experience to help shape our students’ futures.
One of those alumni was Thaddeus Jackson-Browne, who studied A-Levels with us before going on to do a Town Planning degree at Newcastle University. He returned to CTK to speak to students about their next steps, and said it was important to give something back to the College.
“This was my first time back in the College. I emailed Mr Fagan because he was very good to me and I wanted to update him with what I was doing with work,” he said.
“I offered to come in because it’s something I was interested in doing, giving something back to the College because it helped me.”
Maria Green was another former student who decided to get involved with the day. As well as studying her A-Levels here, Maria was also a governor at the College for a time before having to give up the role to focus on raising her 18-month-old baby.
She said: “It was just lovely to be asked to come and speak to the students. The college was a very positive time for me, I left a very conservative school and was able to come here and do the things I wanted to, plus I met my husband here.”
Yet it’s not all about giving something back to Christ the King; the event was also a great opportunity for alumni to network with other professionals and build, or rebuild, connections with fellow alumni and former lecturers.
That’s exactly why Stephanie Kuye, a former student currently studying at the University of Birmingham, got involved with the careers conference and enjoys being a member of the Alumni Association in general.
She said: “Networking opportunities are what I recommend for the alumni group, to get work experience with people working in relevant sectors. It’s another way to grow your knowledge.”
These weren’t the only former students in attendance at the careers conference. Read about other successful alumni, and their career journeys so far, below: