MSc in History of International Relations, 2011
Brand Manager, Pearson Plc
During my undergraduate degree, I worked in my university’s writing centre, helping students with their research papers and writing skills. After graduating I worked as a paralegal in New York before moving to Spain to teach English as a second language. I then returned to New York to teach English to adult students at Kaplan University before moving to London to get my graduate degree at LSE. At this point, my career ambition was to work as a professor. Keen to stay in London and get a bit of professional experience before pursuing a PhD, however, I began working for the Latin American Trade and Investment Forum (LATIA) as an event and project manager. As well as tutoring for Tavistock Tutors to keep my teaching skills sharp. In March 2012 I decided to pursue a career in the education industry as I still did not feel ready to begin a PhD. I have now worked for Pearson PLC for two and half years. I have held several positions within the strategy, marketing, communications and HR departments. I now work as a Brand & Communications Manager for Pearson English where I manage the rollout of our new brand across our global business as well as driving the social media and digital marketing strategy.
When I joined Pearson, I believed I would always return to university to get a PhD (and perhaps I will one day). However, my professional experience has allowed me to pursue other areas of interest and discover new things I would have not otherwise known I was good at or even interested in.
While I wouldn’t have anticipated so many of the skills I developed in past jobs would be relevant, they truly were ‘transferable’. My position calls upon my strategic thinking, communication, project management and research skills. I work across the product lifecycle - with the product and technology team to ensure a product’s look/feel and value proposition align to our brand; with the sales team to ensure they understand how to talk about our products and the applied pedagogy; with the research team to understand gaps in the market and how we can position ourselves within them; and with the marketing team to optimise positioning and messaging. As I have developed in my career I realise the importance of working in a team that challenges you and that you can learn from.
My responsibilities vary from writing content calendars and developing campaigns to managing the rollout of our brand within products and on marketing assets. I work with colleagues within our four global businesses and with agencies around the world to develop our brand through the creation of creative assets, communication campaigns and a unified marketing strategy.
My goal is always to move onward and upward. I have been lucky to have four promotions during my 2.5 years at Pearson and want to continue on this path. I enjoy working in education but I, of course, am always keen to pursue new options which would allow me to gain and widen my experience. That said, I am always keeping my eyes open for the next step.
I chose LSE because it is one of the best universities in the world and has a very global student body. As a strong believer that you learn just as much outside of the classroom as within it, this was really important to me. Plus, going to school abroad was not only more affordable that university in the US but meant I could also do some travelling during break time.
I still keep in touch with many of my friends from LSE and I can confidently say they are still some of the smartest people I have ever met. I am confident each of them (and the rest of my class) will go on to have very successful careers. Additionally, I know the LSE brand has certainly helped my career and the opportunities I have been given since graduating and I trust it will continue to.
I really enjoyed my time at LSE. The calibre of students and various on campus lectures really enhanced the academic experience. I only wish I could redo it!