Using the £100 Employability Award which was available to all final-year De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) students has put Ellie Harris in an enviable position before even graduating.
She put the money to good use, travelling down to an interview at The Stones Hotel - just minutes away from the world-famous Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire.
The interviewers were so impressed with the Dance student’s skills and experience, that not only did they offer her a job, they are hoping to build on her capabilities too.
As well as receptionist duties, the role could evolve into working with the weddings team, supporting them with social media marketing and co-ordinating colour schemes and table layouts.
The 22-year-old from Salisbury, who chose to specialise in the theoretical application of dance in her final year, said: “I felt confident going into the interview because of the strong employability focus of DMU’s Dance course.
“Our tutors actually made us film each other in mock interviews and although it was awkward to watch back and critique, it definitely helped.
“Thanks to the Digital Technology module I could talk about my experience of projection mapping. The interviewers were excited to hear that if they invest in the right software, I can programme it to project clients’ chosen images on different surfaces like cakes, walls and tables.
“I’m really grateful for the £100 Employability Award too, because it paid for my travel costs to get back home for the interview. I didn’t bring my car to university and Wiltshire’s a long way away.”
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Ellie starts her job later this month, just one day after her final assignment is due, but will be back in Leicester in June to finish what she started during a placement for her Dance Management module.
She has organised an exciting dance programme as part of a World of Work event which will be hosted at Newbridge High School in Coalville, introducing children to the range of careers that a dance degree can lead to.
“I have three DMU students lined up to introduce the children to Ghanaian dancing, breakdancing and musical theatre. They will each give an introductory talk, followed by a short performance, a 20-minute workshop and a closing talk about careers,” said Ellie.
Originally, Ellie enrolled to study dance at a different university and ‘hated it’. She said: “I dropped out after the first term, but I was determined to follow my dream.
“DMU caught my attention because of the variety of modules it offers and the depth they go into, plus the option to follow a theoretical route. It’s a pretty unique offer compared to others.
“You get amazing support from tutors and they open your eyes to careers you didn’t even imagine possible from dance journalism to teaching.”
While at DMU Ellie has also benefited from volunteering at Curve, thanks to the university’s strong partnership with the theatre, and informative talks from the internationally-recognised organisation Dance4.
Posted on Tuesday 16 May 2017