Amy has been on the eskimosoup team for 3 years now, from being a temporary intern to a campaign director. She’s achieved so much and we’re really proud of her. You go girl!

How did you get to where you are today?

After my A-S level results I decided against going to university, I didn’t have the grades I wanted to go to the universities that I’d been interested in, and I realised that I didn’t actually know what subject I wanted to study or what career I wanted to go into.

However, not long after making this choice I was called out in class by my psychology teacher who asked how I ever expected to become an independent woman without a degree – my answer to work my way up seemed naïve to her. I also had to walk out of an assembly when they asked students not applying through UCAS to leave and was promptly called into the head of sixth form to explain my ‘bizarre’ decision.  I wasn’t against studying so I later went to uni but first, I needed time to figure out what I wanted to do.

This all leads into the how I got where I am today – after a couple of years spent working in everywhere from Nightclubs to accountancy firms, I discovered marketing – a role where I could be creative and ‘do cool stuff’. Having no knowledge on the subject and in a time of limited apprenticeships, I applied for the course at Hull Uni.

I continued to work throughout my course and did a marketing internship over the summer of my second year. When it came to getting a job after uni. I looked all over but I got really picky about what I wanted to do. I had a list of local marketing agencies on my desk and started keeping a close eye for jobs with them.

I saw an internship at eskimosoup and decided on a stand out CV, I landed that and after 3 months I became permanent and 3 years after that I got my current role of Campaigns Director. Needless to say, I’m very glad I didn’t give into school pressure and do teaching at Northampton.

Who are your role models?

My parents (soppy), my English teacher (Mr Anderson), pretty much all the blue peter presenters (but that might just be because they had really cool adventures) and Beth Tweddle (even after I realised I didn’t stand a chance of being a Olympic gymnast!).

If you could give advice to a younger you, what would it be?

Don’t get lost in societies idea of success or other peoples opinions on what you should be doing, and how far you should have got. Stay creative and take your time 😊

Based on your own experience, what advice would you give a girl at GCSE or A-Levels choosing their future path?

I would honestly recommend time out to anyone age 17/18 – there is so much pressure to follow the route that your school, family, friends and even culture think is right for you. I worked harder and got more out of university and work experience placements once I knew what I was aiming for.

It takes strength and time to give yourself space to figure out what it is you want to do, but I also don’t mean go to Bali to ‘find yourself’. Equally, if you know what you want to do – fight for it, just do it. Don’t wait for approval, go with your gut.

Who’s your #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday – but really #WCIWD)

Currently: Elise Christie – team GB winter Olympics, Always: Sophia Bush – From OTH to campaigner, Well obviously: Michelle Obama – you don’t, Nerdy: Mona Chalabi – making doodle stats for the masses,

Bonus round: What’s your proudest achievement?

I should say winning Young Achiever of the year – and that was a proud moment, but I have to say at the premiere of Deception in January, I saw a group of young people, families, our team and our Patron and realised how far NIOC had come since it started in my internship – how far I’d come and how much we’d achieved.

Also when I made it to the top of Snowdon, in October, in gale force winds and near zero visibility (also when I made it back down and sat by the lake with a cuppa tea!)

 

Oh and one more thing…

This year I was asked to speak at C4DI’s women in tech event taking place on the 8^th March, however due to our Not in our community youth summit I wasn’t able to commit to taking part. Then Jenni emailed about a blog she was putting together for the day and I saw it as an opportunity to at least say something.

Hull is the 8^th worst place in the UK to grow up a girl – there are higher rates of child poverty and teenage pregnancy amongst other things. So knowing that it is harder for girls here we need more people who have their backs and are ready to fight for them and support them.

There are a lot of strong females leaders in this city, in business, in politics, and in the third sector.

Girls need real role models not just movie stars. They need to be around people making their dreams come true, whether that is running a successful YouTube account, opening a café or being an engineer. So we need to shout about successes closer to home.

They also need truth around them, they need to know the world is tough, but that they will survive. They need people who will be honest about how hard they work and that there will be failures! The world owes us nothing and the ugly truth is that a girl from Hull is starting from behind.