Jay graduated from BA (Hons) Media Communications at London College of Communication in 2020.
What was the most interesting project you worked on during your course?
The most interesting project for me was making our podcasts as I was already really educated in radio so it was easily transferrable to the unit.
Did the course provide opportunities to engage with industry?
There were some opportunities to work with clients when following briefs in the social media and marketing campaign units, as well as working with The Cinema Museum.
Did you complete any work placements / internships whilst being on the course?
I had been working in radio, at Reprezent, and hosting a variety of live events, and music events to help continue to build my experience whilst studying on the course. I did this to help build my name, my brand, my experience, and to keep up with those in the industry.
What important piece of advice would you give to students thinking of studying this course?
Make sure it is really what you want to do and for the right reasons. The course will allow you to explore a variety of media platforms, from print to new media, photography, videography, podcasting, advertising, and more. These little tasters will give you a great basic template on what’s out there in the world, and how to do them, which will then spark your interests in a potential speciality.
What was the highlight of your LCC experience?
The highlight of my experience was definitely my study abroad year in second year, as I attended UC Berkeley and lived in San Francisco for 6 months. It was a crazy experience and very interesting to see how they work, and what they study and class as ‘media’ in America.
The experience really helped me to grow and develop as a person, and experience living abroad which is something I will definitely do again one day!
What was the most important thing you learnt from your course?
The most important thing I learnt was to always use my contacts wisely and to network where possible. There are people on my course and in the college that I’ll probably be working alongside in future, so always be nice to people and leave a good reputation.
UAL alumni are everywhere.
What have you been up to since graduating?
After graduating I curated and hosted two of my own live music event series called ‘Jay Presents’ at Boxpark in Croydon, which was a huge success. Whilst continuing to better my radio show, and narrowing down on where I wanted to work, and building up all the relevant experience needed technically to get there.
I then had an internship at BBC Radio 2, where I worked on Steve Wright in The Afternoon. I trained to become a radio producer for a huge network, which betters my presenting skills as I have an advantage from both sides of the mic, and could learn all the tips and tricks of the trade from the inside, make important contacts, and network.
After my year-long internship finished and all my training was complete, I got offered a job at KISS FM UK. It’s still very much on target for where I want to be, with music I enjoy, and opportunities that I can work on from the inside out.
How did your course support getting you to where you are today?
I used academic support to help me through my dissertation, as I needed a bit of extra help due to my learning difficulties, which weren’t even registered until I got help from LCC. I always knew that I struggled in certain areas, and had always tried to manage myself where I could but being diagnosed helped get me extra support and extra funding to help me learn better.
View the BA (Hons) Media Communications course page.
Visit Jay's website.
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+44 (0)20 7514 6500