Martin Harris
BA Hons Broadcast Journalism, 2007
Why did you choose the University of Gloucestershire?
I chose the University of Gloucestershire over two other top choices as I thought it looked like a forward thinking uni, while the others I visited were quite stuffy and traditional.
Pittville Campus seemed to have a nice atmosphere and I also liked the fact it was smaller than other ones I had visited. The lecturers I spoke to seemed to have a lot of knowledge and experience, which was always going to be a plus!
What were the high points of your time at the University?
Academically doing particularly well in a sports broadcasting module pushed me forward and links to what I now do for a living; on the extra curricular side I took part in a lot of volunteering during my time in Cheltenham — winning an award from the Pittville Residents Association for my work in the community was an honour — but the best feeling was certainly earning the respect of some very difficult kids!
What did you like best about the course and what aspects do you consider worth promoting to potential students?
The thing I liked best about Broadcast Journalism was the fact that it allowed you to go out and find stories — it's only when you actually go into a career as a journalist that you realise quite a lot of the time you're going to have to find your own stories — so learning how to do treatments, develop contacts and so on was vital.
What do you think you gained most from the course and how do you feel your studies enhanced your career potential?
Confidence was a big thing for me — you realise quite early on that if you want something you're going to need to stand up and be noticed. As a naturally shy person it did take me a while — but by the end of the course I think I had the increased self confidence necessary to go and find the better jobs.
What social activities were you involved in during your time here, e.g. Students’ Union — Jobshop, clubs and societies, volunteering?
I played football in the intermural league with Sporting Pittville and did some presenting on Tone Radio; as I mentioned earlier the big thing for me was volunteering with the volunteering shop as it was called back then. From football coaching to running some schemes in my first and second year. In my final year I actually worked for Cheltenham Community Projects in association with the university, responsible for schemes for a particular age group in the St Paul's area. I would recommend volunteering to all potential and current students — for your C.V. as well as for your own piece of mind!
What do you miss the most about university life?
Sleep! Doing what I do now I'm working 6 or sometimes 7 days a week from very early to very late! In all seriousness though I miss the people and Cheltenham itself — I came to the town on my own from a long way away — but very rarely did I feel on my own.
What are you hoping to do next and/or what are you doing at present?
At the moment I'm a journalist at a radio station here in Essex called Southend Radio — we were a brand new start up in March and I've been involved since before the launch which was all really exciting and a privilege. My main duties are working as the roving reporter during the week and reading the news at the weekends.
I also work on special reports — recently I did a week of reports into a controversial new deep sea port along the coast, and at the moment I'm working on a football season preview for local sides. I am also in charge of sports coverage on the station — providing match reports on Southend United and working closely with all local sports clubs — from rugby to gliding!