Alumni Proflie – Gude Hudson-Gool
I was fortunate enough to be a student at UKC at the start of the millennium. I found my tribe in freshers’ week and forged lifelong friendships with the most wonderful, inspiring and brilliant people. Studying Sociology at UKC taught me to research carefully, consider evidence, formulate an argument and write coherently. The course helped me to develop a strong sense of cultural relativism. I became fascinated with different societies, cultures and traditions.
After uni, I moved to London and worked in advertising and TV before travelling around the world for 8 months with my husband. While documenting our trip (including various cultural experiences!) I fell in love with writing and continued to blog once we had returned to Kent. Writing is now an integral part of my job as brand manager at a small, Kent-based property development company.
Watermark Homes encourages team members to give back to the local community. Since 2018, we have been raising money for Canterbury-based homeless charity, Porchlight, which helps vulnerable and isolated people get support with their mental health, housing, education and employment. Last October, our MD, John Friis, spent a sponsored night sleeping rough and raised over £500 (including gift aid) for Porchlight. In addition to this, we’ve donated to Porchlight instead of sending corporate Christmas cards and regularly promote Porchlight’s amazing work via social media.
I feel incredibly lucky both to be able to write for a living and have the opportunity to support a local charity while doing so.
Please donate to Porchlight if you can afford to. They not only bring homeless people in from the cold, but also help to prevent at-risk people from becoming homeless. Thank you.