Story

Creative Careers: Katrina Young

Written byChloe Murphy
Published date 10 November 2021

At London College of Communication (LCC), we support our students to become the future of the creative industries. We're proud to give them the tools they need to develop key critical and technical skills, to build their confidence, and to grow their professional networks.

Our Industry Mentoring Programme matches postgraduate students with experienced mentors who can offer helpful tips, information and advice on ways to kick-start their career.

Throughout their time together, mentees gain the professional insight needed to develop their career plans and forge important professional relationships. In turn, mentors gain access to the latest College networks while supporting the next generation of thinkers, makers and communicators.

As part of our Creative Careers series, we're catching up with some of our current mentors to reflect on their experiences.

Katrina Young

Named as one of the Top 40 Digital Women to Watch in the UK (2020), Katrina Young is a consultant and digital business analyst who supports businesses to grow their online presence and up-skill across the field of digital transformation.

With a focus on strategy, mentorship and workflows, Katrina’s work reflects her background as a qualified trainer, educator and lecturer. After studying marketing and advertising at UAL, she trained on a range of expert programmes offered by leading organisations including Harvard Online and Silicon Valley Innovation Centre, and has since maintained her links with the University by supporting current students through the Industry Mentoring Programme at LCC.

We caught up with Katrina to discuss her professional background and her thoughts on why supporting students in their transition from education to industry is so important.

Once you have an established career and industry experience, I think it’s essential that you understand the value of your knowledge and expertise, and how this can impact graduates who are about to enter the market.

— Katrina Young

Tell us a little bit about your practice.

My focus is in the areas of digital, marketing, advertising, innovation, digital business transformation and technology.

I work with SMEs, corporations, universities and adventure accelerators to offer mentorship, training and consultation.

Why did you decide to volunteer your time to LCC's Industry Mentorship Programme?

I was inspired to sign up as a mentor as I studied as an End-To graduate. I remember attending a workshop with visiting industry experts, where I was enthralled by the prospect of running an agency (although it felt completely daunting at the time!)

As a professional who can now offer new insights and answers from industry, I was motivated to volunteer and give back at the very place where my career began. I was very fortunate to begin consulting while studying at UAL, which gave me a great start.

What have been the highlights of your time as an LCC industry mentor?

I think my major highlight has been meeting such talented students.

In my role as a mentor, I’ve been able to support my mentee in her transition to work by providing advice and guidance, which has been really nice.

Why would you encourage other creative practitioners to sign up as mentors?

Quite often, experts can underestimate how understanding the professional world or working in industry can be invaluable to those who are new and entering it for the first time. Industry mentoring offers a great opportunity to use this knowledge to support emerging creatives.