It is a pleasure to welcome University of Exeter undergraduate, Joanna Stallard, to join me at Go Wild Communications. With a hunger in her belly to make a positive difference to the world, Joanna has an interest in politics and the acumen to roll up her sleeves and challenge social norms. Joanna will assist me on research for campaigns, writing press releases and digital marketing.

Name: Joanna Stallard

University and subjects: University of Exeter – BA History and German (2:1).

What has been the highlight of your university tenure?

The highlight of my University experience was going on a year abroad to Würzburg in Germany thanks to the Erasmus scheme. Having only learnt German for two years at this stage, it was a fantastic opportunity which enabled me to improve my language skills at an accelerated pace before joining the Advanced German language course back in Exeter for my final year.

What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of having almost reached fluency in German after four years of studying it. Through learning German I have had the opportunity to meet great friends that I would otherwise never have met, and it has offered me a different perspective and insights into different cultures through being able to reach out to others through their own native words.

What are you hoping to get out of your internship?

I am hoping in the first instance to convey my gratitude for the opportunity to spend a week with Harry by providing some useful work, which has been aided by the training I received from the University of Exeter on their Penryn site a week prior to my placement. I am also hoping to learn from Harry as a woman who has been able to become self-employed through her numerous successes in Communications and PR and through her ability to take the initiative in creating opportunities for herself and her business. The food and drink industry is one I would consider in the future as a sector I would enjoy working in and this week will provide a taster which will hopefully add to my enthusiasm about it and consideration of it for future career plans.

Tell me about the job you will be going into in September.

In September I will begin my first full-time role as a researcher for my home constituency MP Susan Elan Jones, in the House of Commons. The job will include various research projects delegated by Susan as well as writing tasks such as preparing press releases and parliamentary speeches. I will also have some responsibility over organisation of the diary as well as opportunities to network in attending event with and on behalf of Susan.

Your future goals?

My long-term future ambition is to become an MP for a Welsh constituency. Firstly however, I would like to secure as much ‘life-experience’ as I can through sectors in which I can utilise my communication and people skills. I am keen to work in sectors which are male dominated in order to address the imbalance of sexes in the workplace, but also in order to demonstrate the value added to a business when it incorporates a range of people in benefiting both the workforce and ultimately the company as a whole.

What does success look like to you?

Success for me, must come hand-in-hand with fairness and equality of opportunity. Monetary triumph without concern for individuals’ lives throughout the workforce cannot plausibly be deemed a success. While outcome is of course important to success in the workplace, more important is the ensuring of a fair living wage which ensures that people have enough not only to survive, but to thrive. Ultimately success is having the opportunities to be happy and comfortable in order to reach potential thanks to support from the infrastructures of society.