Marketing student’s placement with Glasgow Credit Union highlights the Common Good

A GCU marketing student has reflected on the impact of the Common Good after landing a placement with Glasgow Credit Union.

Heather Lewis is currently in the middle of a two-month placement with the organisation, which has been supporting individuals in the West of Scotland with savings, mortgages and loans since 1989.

The opportunity marks the latest chapter in Heather’s University journey after she swapped her degree in Media and Communications for International Marketing at the end of her first year in higher education.

Since then Heather hasn’t looked back and credits her experience on an events module last year as the catalyst for helping her strive to make the world a better place, while also providing the motivation to set her on a new career path.

GCU journey

“I studied Media and Communications at GCU when I left school originally. I really enjoyed the course but felt a lot of it was pushed towards the world of news. The turning point was when I completed a Public Relations (PR) module and felt like I took a particular interest in it. I knew that was a big part of marketing, so I asked the question if I could swap over, and thankfully I got the opportunity.”

“I still speak to a lot of people from my time studying Media and Communications, but I’ve met so many lovely people studying International Marketing. My favourite class has been events with Michael O’Regan and Chrissy Ross – it really helped me gain an insight into the industry and gave that real-life experience. We were all put into different groups and given different roles to help deliver an event for Festival for the Common Good. The idea behind it was basically to give us all experience, while raising money for a chosen charity.

“I was the Finance Manager and I was pretty nervous because it’s not my strong point – I wasn’t a massive fan of maths at school. However, I actually found a real sense of purpose when I was doing it because I was looking after all the money and had a bit of responsibility overall.

“Our event was a fashion show using clothes from different British Heart Foundation stores. We managed to raise over £500 for the charity and it was a great feeling to see all of it come together from scratch. Having the opportunity to actually calculate all the profits before taking it to the charity was really rewarding. It undoubtedly played a key role in leading to this placement with Glasgow Credit Union.”

Opportunity

“I actually emailed our Programme Coordinator Janice Craig as soon as I heard we had to complete a placement in third year. I didn’t want to be left with nothing and really viewed it as a chance to develop myself. I ended up being put in touch with Glasgow Credit Union and it basically all just developed from there.

“I had a call with their Chief Executive Officer, David Ross, who basically took some time to tell me more about the company and what would be involved. He explained that they didn’t actually have a marketing team in place but was keen for me to get it all started, so I knew right away there was an opportunity for me to help start something.

“David was also keen to find out if I had any finance experience and I was able to tell him about the Festival for the Common Good event I had been involved with. He seemed really impressed by my role as Finance Manager and I think that was what actually got me the placement with Glasgow Credit Union in the end.”

Placement

“My main role since starting the placement has basically been to come up with ways of helping Glasgow Credit Union target a younger audience. I’ve also been looking at the company’s current online presence and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. I’m hoping to also get involved in different events and meetings throughout my time so that I can basically get as much as possible out of the experience.”

Future

“A big thing for me with this opportunity was the chance to build my experience within marketing, while also working in the real world. I’m hoping this will help me realise exactly what I want to do when I leave GCU.

“At this point, I’m not exactly sure where my future lies, but I know I really like marketing and particularly enjoy the social media side of the industry. I feel like it’s something that is only going to get bigger and bigger.

“David said there was also an opportunity to maybe work with Glasgow Credit Union beyond my placement, so that’s definitely pushing me to make the most of my opportunity. Being involved in a company that focuses on finance is also quite unusual, and I would hope that stands out on my CV in future.

“There’s obviously a link between GCU and Glasgow Credit Union as well, given that they both work towards the Common Good. Doing the event last year for Festival for the Common Good shows me the impact good deeds can have on others, so I feel like spending my two months at Glasgow Credit Union is a natural way to carry that on. It’s important to me that the work I do has a feel-good factor, so I’m excited for what else is to come.”

Find out more about GCU’s BA (Hons) International Marketing course

By Ross Clark       
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter