IN THE SPOTLIGHT
THE
DIFFERENCE
WE MAKE
Paul Austin
A
t Alumni HQ we like to ask our alumni to make
a difference. When Paul Austin (International
Relations, 1980) asked us if he could make a
difference by offering an internship at the European
headquarters of Newsweek magazine, at Canary Wharf
in London, we were happy to say yes.
Who better to benefit from the opportunity to work on this prestigious
publication than the newly elected editor of Concourse, Keele’s newspaper
written by students for students. Within two weeks Natalie Ilsley (English
and American Literatures, 2015) had begun her real life experience of
current affairs journalism and she reflects on her opportunity.
“From the moment I arrived, I learned the benefit of taking yourself out
of your comfort zone. Paul asked me to introduce myself to everyone in
the office which, at the time, was a little daunting. However, after plucking
up the courage to do so, I already felt as if I’d achieved so much. I admit
that I didn’t have the self confidence then that I have now to go and speak
to people slogging away at their computers.
I constructed a database of 100 universities and had to contact and
build a working relationship with each of them. I soon learnt that being
persistent pays off and knowing what you’re going to say before you say
it earns respect. I was happy that the alumni teams at Keele University
and Manchester University agreed to collaborate with my Newsweek
project. I wrote the copy for e-shots, advertisements and mailings, all
of which were used, and I contributed to their design. I observed how a
good meeting should be run and how others offer constructive and useful
feedback about a particular target audience.
38 | Keele University