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News: Jack’s enterprising career journey shows he means business

Please note: This news story may contain information that is no longer current or up to date.

Jack Crawford’s journey to pursuing his dream business career began from the very first moment he set foot inside the College.

His internship placements and roles within the Students’ Union (SU) were just part of the all-round positive experience he had at College. All of which Jack informs us have been a huge stepping stone to where he is now and to his future goals.

Coming to the College however was only the start of great things for Jack - helping propel his career in various ways, as well as his own personal development.

It was in September 2015 that Jack came to Nottingham College (which at the time was called ncn), where he studied a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business. Whilst studying here, not only did he do extremely well academically - achieving an overall Distinction (D*D*D*) on completion of his course but he also hugely benefitted from the great range of opportunities available to him.

In particular, Jack feels that being elected as the Student Unions’ Enterprise and Employability Officer before being promoted to Vice President position enabled him to develop skills and gain relevant insight into the business world.

Speaking of his roles within the SU, Jack said: “I was determined to create a culture within the College that lay focus on the importance of entrepreneurship. I sought the help of local organisations specialising in business and entrepreneurship as one of my projects. I led independent meetings to organisations such as Nottingham Trent University, The Hive and charitable organisation, Young Enterprise. This independence enabled me to implement great change on behalf of the College. I was particularly happy with the fact that after consistently liaising with senior management, students were able to attend multiple sessions on entrepreneurship – a new approach to looking at entrepreneurship and business certainly inspired students!

“My position as Vice President made me responsible for the actions of 13 fellow student officers and for the entire student cohort. This role required me to lead and inspire and to ensure the SU was successful. A highlight of my role was leading the SU to second place in a National competition hosted by the National Association of Managers for Student Services (NAMSS), promoting British values around the College.”

As a whole Jack felt that there was an abundance of support given to him at Nottingham College, which he describes as “second to none.” He is especially thankful for an internship that he gained through the College’s Student Work Experience team at Experian, after asking the team if they could help him in his goal to gain experience within a corporate business.

He said: “Jenny Clarke (Work Experience Manager for the College) and Dalvinder Singh (Work Experience Co-ordinator) provided me with an unbelievable amount of help and advice and I lay much of my current experience in business down to them. They took me in like I was one of their own, having a genuine passion for seeing me do well. A highlight of working with them has to be when I was asked to attend the Love Business Expo, an East Midland’s business showcase (of which ncn was a sponsor) as a VIP - giving me unprecedented access to some of the region’s biggest businesses.”

Following his previous great accomplishments, Jack is now studying a BSc (Hons) in Business Management at the University of Nottingham, which he feels is a direct progression from his time at College where he received invaluable support and guidance. He in fact adds…”my experience at Nottingham College certainly helped me attain my place, whether it was the spending hours with the Careers Advisors in optimising my personal statement or them providing me with opportunities for work experience or personal development.”

Among other things, since joining he has received the Sir Andrew Witty Entrepreneurial Scholarship, which was awarded to him by Sir Andrew Witty (the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline) himself due to Jack being a ‘promising student entrepreneur’ - which he is extremely happy about! The scholarship shows that my hard work is being recognised by someone in business that I aspire to and gives me the passion and drive to continue working harder. I recognise the importance of this scholarship and its access to unparalleled support in developing me as an entrepreneur”, Jack continues.

In addition, Jack has also received two university bursaries – one of which was granted due to him studying a vocational qualification prior to coming to university. He’s also 1 of only 15 students selected to join Experian’s Leadership Programme, which is a joint programme between the University of Nottingham and Experian – as part of the University’s Nottingham Advantage Award.

“Without the help and support of Dalvinder and Jenny in securing me an internship with Experian, I may not have had the credentials to be successful in getting onto the 1 year programme, in which all of Nottingham’s students were eligible to apply. On this programme, I receive mentorship from Experian as I aim to transform as a leader, as well as the prospect of opportunities with the business in the future”, Jack added.

Jack has certainly built on his previous successes and achievements since coming to Uni, which also include:

  • Being promoted to Catering Supervisor at the Motorpoint Arena – directly responsible for the catering units and the management of a team of staff at events catering up to 10,000 people.
  • Being selected as 1 of 30 students to join the Corporate Finance Team on Nottingham University’s Economics and Finance Society. This aims to provide analysts with knowledge in investment banking, which is a sector that interests Jack.
  • Currently being in the application stage for spring week internship programmes, where he has applied to a range of investment banks including JP Morgan. Jack is also hopeful about an internship in Supply Chain Management with Unilever. He says: “These first year internships put me one step ahead of the game, allowing me to be fast tracked onto summer internships in years 2 and 3 of my course – when no doubt the application process will be a lot more competitive.”

Through his experiences, internships and sponsorships that began during his time at Nottingham College, Jack feels that he’s been provided with a great head start when it comes to applying for graduate roles. He is really looking forward to his future which looks very bright.

He says: “Though it may sound over-ambitious, I’m set on a career in Senior Management, Directorate and CEO-level - as I have a genuine passion for leadership. I would love to build on my limited supervisory experience and do it all on a much larger scale within business operations - where I can put my ability, knowledge and passion to its best use.

“Following my undergraduate degree, I would like to gain professional experience, and then undertake a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at a top school like Cambridge or London Business School. My dream would be to study over in America, at the likes of Harvard, Yale and Wharton.”

Jack clearly places huge value on his time at Nottingham College and speaking of his time here, he says:
“Being at University has really put into perspective the amount of support I received from Nottingham College. Without some of the opportunities and support presented to me here I wouldn’t have developed into who I am today and wouldn’t have had my eyes open to the world of opportunity that’s really now at my fingertips.”

“At College, I was genuinely treated like an adult. This was very evident when I took up the roles on the Students’ Union, where I didn’t once did feel undermined! I worked with a range of stakeholders, whether that be suppliers to the College, senior managers –and even had two meetings with the CEO! My thoughts were listened to and acted upon, often being granted permission to act on behalf of the College in situations a student outside of the SU wouldn’t be able to do. It’s only through the support, trust, mentorship and responsibility, that was shared throughout the College, that I developed in such a way.

“I continue to see the results of my hard work at College, helped tremendously by the support available and the exposure to many opportunities. It has all provided me with so much ambition and passion to continue working so hard to reach my goals in business and life.”

Published on:
  • 9th January 2018 (12:00 AM)
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