Kristina’s Taylor Bennett Foundation Experience

I’m Kristina, an Industrial Economics BSc Student at the University of Nottingham. I initially heard about the Taylor Bennett Foundation when my friend sent me a link to their website and prompted me to sign up. She saw that it was a charity that aimed to encourage students from ethnic minority backgrounds to pursue a career in communications and she felt that I would enjoy the Summer Stars programme. It is evident that she was right because since applying to participate in the Taylor Bennett Foundation Summer Stars programme, I have gained invaluable skills that exceeded my expectations. I particularly liked that the programme is open to people who may not have had any previous experience in communications but have the passion and hard work ethic to learn.

Due to the skills I learnt during the TBF Bootcamp, I was able to do my internal communications role at Lloyds Banking Group adequately. The most rewarding part of my internship was getting the opportunity to help plan, execute and participate in a Town Hall event with the CEO, which included me asking him important questions in front of Lloyds Banking Group employees. Furthermore, I got the opportunity to make video content for the Lloyds Banking Group Intranet page which was visible for all of Lloyds Banking Group to watch.

Although I didn’t have a lot of prior knowledge about communications, the skills I have developed through this internship has irradicated the doubt and potential imposter syndrome I felt before starting the role. If I was to give some advice to future Taylor Bennett Foundation applicants, I would say that this opportunity is about learning and growing. You are not expected to know everything straight away so if you are uncertain of anything, ask those questions, seek advice from the TBF staff and talk to your line managers at work. This mindset really helped me to execute projects at work that I would never have imagined I would be a part of and the internship has increased my employability greatly. Thank you to the Taylor Bennett Foundation for such an incredible opportunity!

Kristina Morrison, Undergraduate, University of Nottingham.