While at a recent event in November 2016 at LSE with Global Master’s in Management students, I was asked if I was a student. Having graduated with a BSc and MSc in Management back in 2002 and 2003 respectively, this was music to my ears. It has been well over a decade since I left LSE to start my professional working life. In that time, I have worked hard on making my ‘camemberts’ (pie charts) perfect, argued about shades of pink, given a voice to freedom and found out along the way that my hobby and passion of storytelling would be my career.

I learnt that storytelling and brand management requires hard work, dedication, learning and a lot of passion. Yes, my pie charts had to be well done and being able to forecast stock levels was a must, but I also had to develop discussion skills and negotiate why one shade of pink or why one word can make a difference. Working in marketing, the ability to discuss ideas and points and clearly communicate them to different groups of people was crucial. This is something I learned at LSE. Spending four years at LSE – including the CEMS international course – gave me a greater appreciation of different workloads, working in different teams with a variety of people and what would be expected of me in a job. I also felt my time at LSE helped me to adapt, be flexible and above all, be resilient. There were new courses, ideas and environments to explore.  LSE gave me the strength and courage to take on challenges and find solutions.

Also, while at LSE I learned that being authentic and individual makes you…you. Being yourself is a cliché and it can be hard to pin down what it means, but while at LSE I had the time and the space in which to explore my personality. It helped me to understand what I was capable of doing, what I wanted to do, and provided me with tools to get there. I was able to leverage my love of storytelling and this helped me get me my first graduate job.

LSE instilled in me a great appreciation of learning. Learning never stops, ever! Some moments from my time at LSE still stand out. I had the amazing chance to work and live in Paris and Barcelona. This helped me appreciate new cultures, ways of thinking and working. This appreciation also led me to work for a human rights organisation. The ability to communicate with different groups of people was essential. Even now when I record videos, audiobooks, films, adverts and more, the ability to understand an audience and know how to speak to them is important. LSE helped shape me into the person I am today.