Challenging University Podcast

How do you go from leaving school being told "there's nothing we can do for you" to becoming a leader in your field, someone who creates their own unique methodology that instructors now teach to create a trusted relationship between owner and pet gun dog? Lez Graham's story is as interesting as it is inspiring. Despite leaving school without GCSE's, her career to date has included riding instruct...

If you had three university offers on the table, what would you do? For Conor Cotton, it crystallised a decision to make his mark on the world of work. From an initial motivation of making money, Conor soon realised that by surrounding himself with people he could learn from, he could accelerate both his professional and personal growth beyond chasing bigger pay checks. With business books by his...

Akua Apeagyei is a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft on a degree apprenticeship programme. She's also a young carer, an award-winner and the founder of Anomalys Foundation - an Instagram community she has created to bring more young people into STEM. In this episode, Akua talks about the source of her resilience, the importance of spotting opportunities and why education doesn't just take plac...

Can you imagine passing your UK driving test aged 18 and a month later you're behind the wheel on the roads of Chianti? How about if your first job after earning your BTEC was nannying for an Italian family in Tuscany and you didn't speak the language? Terrifying right? Not for Leanne Barrie. Leanne's story is one of being expected to leave home at 18, receiving sound advice from her dad that oppo...

How do you secure a career in communications that takes you all the way to being offered Chief Exec if you didn't go to uni? And how do you tell Sir Martin Sorrell that you want something other than the top job?! In this wide-ranging conversation, Time to Think Coach Karen Moyes describes in hilarious detail her educational exploits including failing the 11 plus and being sent to an all-girls scho...

How much did your friends influence your decisions at school? In this bonus episode I talk about raving in a disused psychiatric hospital, why grafting was our number one priority and how university just wasn't discussed amongst my friendship group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the impact on your educational and career choices when you are born profoundly deaf? In this episode, James Simms explains how his experiences of growing up with cochlear implants and being the first profoundly deaf individual to attend his secondary school led to him having to stand up – and stand out – to access opportunities that people who are born with hearing take for granted. Alongs...

How do you go from working on a make-up counter to being responsible for Customer Success at LinkedIn? For Katie Moon it was a story of hard graft, asking smart questions and surviving the initial low pay, long hours culture of recruitment in London in her early 20s. And while Katie enjoyed excitement and success, she wasn't able to see the value she had to offer until a family emergency made her...

Want to know what me and my friends called each other at our first job? Scrubbers!! Yes, we were all cleaners at the AA before we had even left school. In this five minute episode I talk buffing machines, being responsible and why one gold earring doesn't make you George Michael.... #careers #firstjob #clearner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Would you know what to say if you found yourself on a Zoom call with Her Majesty the Queen in your early 20s? David McIntosh did. As Scotland's first ever Management Consulting apprentice at KPMG, and the Co-Chair of the firm's UK Social Mobility network, David's life story so far makes for powerful listening. So much so, he was chosen to speak with Her Majesty as part of the firm's 150th annivers...

Wondering what spurs me on to produce this podcast? Well, this is a good place to start :) Here's five minutes on what happened when I discovered my dad had terminal cancer during my first year of GCSE's, why I realised working in a fruit and veg shop wasn't going to be the start of a beautiful career and what happened once I'd sat my A-levels. #childhoodbereavement #education #careers   Host...

Ever wondered what a Chief of Staff does? Or why setting a target to double your salary every five years is not about money? Nigel Chambers is Chief of Staff at the global foreign exchange services organisation XE. In this episode he talks about his early life on a council estate and how going to the pub with less money than his friends steered him away from college but into an even better opportu...

What does it take to go from being a 'Saturday Girl' at M&S to establishing a successful women's fashion brand? To answer that question, I'm joined by Nayna McIntosh , CEO and Founder of womenswear label Hope Fashion. From recounting her parents' reactions when she failed to achieve the A-level results needed to go to university, to feeling like her gender and race meant she didn't fit on the...

If your name was on a list of test results pinned to a board, would you look from the top down or the bottom up?* In this very special episode, business founder and non-executive director Shaun Frohlich shares a wealth of stories and insights into what has taken him from a "square-bashing school" that he couldn't wait to get away from to a position where today he's helped dozens of business leader...

What is it that makes a successful entrepreneur? For Kris Britton it's all about intention. From organising a show-stopping event to raise money for charity at secondary school (attracting so much attention his parents had to secure a credit card machine) to creating a beauty business that supplied to major tv news outlets aged just 18, Kris has always set self-limiting beliefs to one side. Today,...

When Louize Clarke changed the spelling of her name aged 12, it was clear that she was destined for a life of disruption. In this episode, Louize shares how setting out on a path of learning through experience led to her challenging the way recruitment gets done, taking on Tech Nation on the behalf of Thames Valley start-ups and creating a dedicated space where people from all walks of life build...

This episode with Jack Blogg offers an engaging, upbeat and interesting insight into what it takes to go from being a shift manager at Pizza Express to creating a career in technology marketing. Jack talks about coming out at 13, second year struggles at college and how hospitality feels like family. We discuss that moment when you realise how much you need to earn to rent your own place and the s...

How do you go from starting your professional life as a nursery nurse to founding an award-winning charity that's helped close to one thousand women enter the workforce? As the daughter of parents who held academia in extremely high regard, Sarah Burns MBE wasn't sure where life would take her after having to re-sit her exams. Sarah talks openly about how it feels to be pre-judged on the basis of...

What does it take to carve a successful career in housing? How about combining that with running your own business? Nina Egge'Daborn is an Aftercare Specialist at VIVID, a leading provider of affordable homes and housing-related services in the south of England. She also runs her own business in partnership with her husband. In this episode Nina shares her experiences of education in the UK and US...

Welcome to university, challenged. A podcast that challenges the notion that in order to have a successful, interesting, rewarding career, you have to go to university. This 60 second intro covers what the show's about and what you can expect. Got a story you'd like to tell? Connect with me on LinkedIn . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.