Maxine Safo-Frimpong is studying BSc Management and taking a Year in Industry as a Student Experience Officer with Kent Business School’s Professional Services Department.
‘I took a Management course as I had no idea what I wanted to do when I first applied for university – so keeping my options open was the best thing for me.
It was fantastic to secure a place at Kent studying Business and Management. Starting Lectures virtually was strange, during Covid, but they were engaging, and we did plenty of group work online, so I didn’t feel too lonely.
Getting into campus life when things reopened was really exciting. I decided to change my course to solely Management at Canterbury, so I got to experience the best of both very different worlds at Kent.
By the end of the second year, I really thrived in HR lecturers and seminars, enjoying the people element. I also loved finding out how branding worked and how to captivate the consumer, in Marketing.
By second year, I had to choose a Year in Industry and I applied for many, including those within the university itself.
The Student Experience Assistant role at KBS caught my eye. I loved taking part in events at university, and this would be helping to coordinate everything students loved to do, from the inside!
The selection process was quite thorough and I had to complete a student bulletin and a presentation which really took me out of my comfort zone. I took the topic of Equality, Diversion and Inclusion and presented about how I felt it could be improved within KBS, which they seemed to like.
It has been such an eye-opener working here. The sheer amount of time, effort and staff that it takes to ensure students have a great experience is quite amazing.
I work in a great team, who are supportive and encouraging and they’ve also given me lots of autonomy to go forward with my ideas. I am given control of student bulletins so I’ve learnt how to use systems like Pure 360 and Canva to a high level, which is really a useful skill to have going forward in business – particularly in areas like marketing.
My highlight was working on the Winter Social Event, which I’ve attended myself before. I got to order raffle prizes and had to create all the posters and signage – which I got lovely feedback on.
The graduations were also in my remit, to work at such huge events in the calendar was really epic and made me look forward to my day at Canterbury Cathedral even more.
I am now training a new Student Experience Assistant and it’s really incredible to realise just how much I’ve learnt so far that I can pass on to her. I am supporting her and acting as a mentor, which gives me a sense of leadership, too.
Working here has been one of the best things I’ve done in my life and I have no regrets about staying within the university for my Year in Industry. It’s taught me how much I enjoy working as part of a team and the creative side of business.’