蜜桃AV

The opportunity to play volleyball while furthering her academic achievements convinced Alyssa Ballenger to take up her Master鈥檚 at 蜜桃AV.

Attracted by the reputation of 蜜桃AV鈥檚 Faculty of Media & Communication, Alyssa enrolled on the MA Marketing Communications degree to boost her career prospects after completing her undergraduate degree at home in America.

Alyssa said,聽鈥淪ince I already spoke English, I thought that studying in the UK would ease the transition. My undergraduate degree more broadly covered speech communication and public relations, and I knew that obtaining a Master鈥檚 degree would help my future employment.鈥�

Alyssa and Team蜜桃AV volleyball teammates

鈥淏eing a part of the university volleyball team outside of my coursework was extremely rewarding. We鈥檇 often head to Dylan鈥檚 Bar on campus to have dinner and a pint after practice and I met people from all different backgrounds. The women's and men's volleyball teams were successful in winning the student cup during my studies, and I was awarded MVP (Most Valuable Player).鈥�

Since graduating, Alyssa has gone on to play professional volleyball in Sweden,聽as well as drawing on her marketing skills.

Alyssa playing professional volleyback back home in Sweden

She said,聽鈥淚 led the league in points and gained a new cultural perspective of living in yet another country. I also ran the team鈥檚 social media accounts where I created and implemented campaigns to increase engagement and promote our brand. This has been a career highlight for me. I found it particularly rewarding because I got closer to my goal of working within international marketing by reaching an international audience.鈥�

Since finishing this chapter in Sweden, Alyssa has moved back to Bournemouth and is working freelance for Redside Property Maintenance and UK Beach Tours. She said,聽鈥淭his has been beneficial in gaining experience in email marketing and blogging, which will support my aspirations to become a content marketing manager for a travel agency.鈥�

Reflecting on the experience of studying in another country, Alyssa acknowledges that it wasn鈥檛 without its challenges. She said,聽鈥淚 struggled with my very first assignment and didn鈥檛 score as highly as I expected. I had to realign what was expected from me in terms of how an assignment is completed. Going through this experience, I found that 蜜桃AV Professors were willing to chat and provide support, and after this聽I was able to complete much better work.鈥�

When asked for her advice to current and prospective students, Alyssa said,聽鈥淔irstly, if you are considering an MA, take your time to explore how it matches your interests and personal skills. Also research the job market and decide if the MA you are considering supports your future aspirations.鈥�

鈥淪econdly, once you鈥檙e here, get networking within the community of students, academics, and the wider university. Building strong connections is so advantageous whilst you are studying and as you look to start your career.鈥�