Alina Tasadaq

Student Liaison and Engagement Team Leader, Leeds Trinity University

From the offset I could see how everyone genuinely cared – and after studying here for three years I really felt like I was part of the family.

Why I chose to attend Leeds Trinity

I decided to come to Leeds Trinity University due to it’s small size and the location in the countryside. From the offset I could see how everyone genuinely cared – and after studying here for three years I really felt like I was part of the family.

Valuable placements

I was able to take advantage of two placements during my course.  The first was at Trinity Vision, this really helped me to multitask and stay calm whilst at the same time supporting everyone on the project. It also guided me career wise, with the realisation my skills would be so well suited to a role in supporting others. One highlight through this placement was making a video for the NHS about antibiotics misuse.

My second placement was with Talking Lens, based in Leeds. This was an opportunity to develop a different skill set with a production company. It was a much more administration focused role than with Trinity Vision. One highlight here was working on a film called Ask the Cheat as a Production Assistant and having my name featured in the credits.

Good advice

One of the best pieces of advice I got was from one of my lecturers who stated that you should always get the acknowledgment of what you have done, as in this industry people will take your work and it’s important to speak up and make it known you did it. This is something I have lived by ever since and it has made me more confident in the work I produced and created.

How my career panned out after graduating

I graduated in July 2018 and by September 2018 I was back on campus as a Student Liaison Officer. I subsequently got promoted to Student Liaison and Engagement Team Leader. I enjoy every aspect of my job, from supporting students to implementing new systems and processes.

Studying here to then being able to work here has been amazing and has helped me to grow so much and become a lot more confident. Every day I am learning something new and relish being able to work in such a lovely community. I build relationships with all staff across the University and this has been very rewarding! It is such a great place to work and feel happy to come into work every day.

What I gained from the course

I graduated from Leeds Trinity with a new confidence and felt I had an ‘extra edge’ with the practical experience, theory and the placements I undertook. In my role at Leeds Trinity, I was instantly able to demonstrate effective communications and produce posters to both inform and stimulate engagement.

My advice to those interested in studying media

If you are thinking of studying Media or a Media related course, the advice I would give is to attend every module available. The theory-based modules, for example,  will help you to gain the knowledge and understanding, so then you can put what you have learnt into practise.

Even if you think a particular area doesn’t relate to you and its not something you want to go into, it can still be very important and it will help you.  

Most importantly however, enjoy your time on your course and talk to your tutors and build your network.