Alumni Q&A with former Film, TV and Creative Media Production student Emma Fallows

Q. What interested you in studying the course at Stafford College?

A. Before starting college, I was trying to decide what career path I wanted to take and had started to consider something in TV as I felt I had a creative eye, which was why I was drawn towards the media course at Stafford College. What I hadn’t expected before starting was how much fun I would have on the course, it never really felt like work and I loved learning how to use camera equipment, experimenting with editing software and delving into the world of film and TV.

Q. After college, did you then progress to university?

A. I knew I wanted to go onto university after college but I wasn’t sure exactly what course to do, but one of my lecturers helped me explore my options and told me what I’d need to achieve to get to university. Together we found the Broadcast Journalism course at Nottingham Trent University, which tied in my love of filming and editing, as well as my passion for writing – it felt like a perfect fit. With the guidance of my lecturers, I gained 3 Distinction*’s and was accepted into university.

Q. How did your experiences on the course help you at university?

A. I had an immediate advantage when starting university thanks to my college course as most people had never even picked up a professional camera before or used any editing software and were learning everything from scratch - many of my course mates actually came to me for advice in these areas. It helped me leap into university with confidence.

Q. Tell us more about your career after university.

A. After university I worked as a Broadcast Journalist for a local TV station, also gaining experience at the likes of BBC and ITV, I then started working in a press office which led me more down the PR and communications route, meaning I was dealing with journalists rather than being one myself, which gave me more opportunities to write and work with some interesting people. I worked at a PR agency for a while in Nottingham dealing with a broad range of clients before moving to England Netball as their PR, Communications and Player Liaison Executive, which is a role I held for three years. In that position I found a passion for working in sport and had the opportunity to land coverage in the likes of Vogue, Elle Magazine, as well as on Blue Peter and Sky News for the England team, I handled media at the Netball World Cup and attended events such as the BBC Sports Personality Awards, delivered media training for the athletes and much more.

Q. Tell us about your current role

A. I currently work for UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), which is an organisation that catches those who cheat in sport, celebrates clean athletes, and educates people on the risks of doping. Our work makes a difference in protecting the integrity of the sporting landscape.

In my role as Communications Manager, I work to unearth stories and spot creative opportunities to promote UKAD’s work, I work closely with journalists handling reactive news and landing coverage in targeted titles, deliver campaigns that increase public awareness and engagement, support with both our internal and external communications, plus more.

Q. Would you recommend this course to students looking at their next steps after school?

A. I can't recommend this course enough. I learnt so much and I gained so much confidence during my time at college. I met lecturers who helped me find my chosen career path, made friends for life, and even met my now husband on the course! It all started at Stafford College for me. I don’t believe I would have found this career path if it hadn’t been for my course and the experiences I gained from Stafford College. In all my roles I have often found myself needing to pick up a camera and edit videos, putting my learnings from college to use – I believe it gave me an advantage when applying for certain jobs too.

Find out more about studying Film, TV and Creative Media Production.