Tell us about your career path since graduation. How did you end up where you are? 

As an international student, my time at Royal Holloway studying English inspired me to spend more time abroad. After graduating, I became an Assistant Language Teacher in Shimane Prefecture, Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. The three years I spent there further inspired me to pursue a combination of international relations and education. Moving to Geneva, Switzerland to complete an MA in International Relations, I was hired for my first role with the World Federation of United Nations Associations, planning and leading Youth Training Programmes across the international sector from our home base on the Palais de Nations campus. This experience finally led me to my current role in the United Nations Secretariat, where I work coordinating a network of almost 1800 institutions of higher education across the globe (of which RHUL is a member!). In tandem with this path, my Creative Writing degree gave me to time to develop my voice as an author, leading to the sale of my debut young adult manuscript this past June. I am proud to be represented by Stephen Barbara and Sidney Boker of Inkwell Literary Management here in New York City, NY. Each strange decision I made seemed to lead me to exactly the opportunity I needed next, and I feel beyond lucky.  

What was it about your time at Royal Holloway that has most benefitted your career or influenced your path since graduation? 

Overall, the thing that most benefited my career was that Royal Holloway was not in my home country. Being brand new and relying on new friends and faculty to teach you everything about a culture, the university system, and more, was the best gift I could have asked for. I was also grateful to have had the chance to run the independent student newspaper, The Founder, for two years. As Co-Editor and Designer I learned crucial time and team management, and sharpened existing graphic design and copywriting skills. Taking ownership of a project and working with a team to implement it led me to view future large undertakings as more achievable than daunting, as long as I was willing to put in the work.  

What would you say to potential students considering studying at Royal Holloway? / What advice would you give to students thinking about a career in your sector? 

To any potential international students, I would say that I found the most welcoming home at Royal Holloway that I could have ever asked for. I was always supported in my personal life and in my academics. I also felt perfectly placed, with London and its opportunities at my doorstep, and a close-knit community to belong to and fall back on. The process of moving there was made simple, and every process that allowed me to stay for four years was much the same. I would say that over a decade later I am still thanking RHUL, my first, best home in the UK. To any current Creative Writing students nurturing a novel or otherwise creative work, I would advise you that the most important opportunities come from the most unexpected places, and that no matter how long or arduous the process, your work is important, and your voice deserves to be heard.  

What did you love most about your time at Royal Holloway? / What's your favourite memory of Royal Holloway? 

I loved many things about Royal Holloway. I loved the Founders’ Building, and the hot chocolate machine near the dining hall (which I desperately hope is still there). I loved courses like 'Early Modern Bodies', and 'Drama and Witchcraft', and getting the opportunity to turn in a creative work for my final 'Adaptations of Shakespeare' assignment. I even loved sprinting up the hill carrying a stack of newspapers for delivery every month when the DHL man inevitably delivered them to the wrong address. But the thing I loved most was my friends, who I still see today, though oceans and continents do their best to divide us. I loved that Royal Holloway gave me the support, space, and time I needed to learn more than what was on my course, and end up in exactly the right place because of it.