Email: a.obrien@qub.ac.uk

Tell us about your academic and career journey before you began working at The Thomas J Moran Graduate School? 

I finished school in 2018, took a year out to work, and then came to Queen’s to study English with Creative Writing. As soon as I finished my Bachelors I did a Masters in Poetry here too, which I graduated from in December 2023.

What was your career journey before you started working at the Graduate School?

I worked in retail, supervising and managing other staff for nearly six years, before coming to the Graduate School. I’ve done some other “career” work in terms of my creative career, like founding a poetry magazine, but that’s more of an ‘on-the-side’ thing.

How has your previous academic or professional experience prepared you for your current role?

Spending most of your adult life working in retail does wonders for your ability to communicate, especially with strangers or a team of colleagues. I’m really outgoing and working in a customer facing job made me pretty good at tailoring that to the person I’m speaking to. I interact with students and staff at all different levels about so many different things that it’s imperative to be able to communicate my thoughts.

What's your role at The Graduate School, and what do you enjoy most about it?

I’m a Graduate Intern! Which basically means I do anything the team thinks I can help with and learn from. For me, that’s mostly marketing. I love the social media aspect, being able to tailor it to what students want and to see their responses is genuinely such a joy. It’s nice to get to use my creativity in my work life.

What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

I would say probably trying to understand parts of the student journey I haven’t personally experienced. I haven’t done a PhD (yet!) and, especially at first, trying to understand what PhD students want and need took a lot of research and asking questions. I’d say I have a pretty good idea now, but every once and a while I’ll hear about something I’ve never considered before and have to take the time out to figure out what it is before actually starting the task at hand.

Can you share some examples of the types of challenges or concerns that students often approach you with, and how you assist them?

Since I mostly do marketing, we get quite a few students who need to do surveys or focus groups as part of their research and are struggling to get the numbers needed. I’ll do my best to put posters up for them or advertise the questionnaires on our screens in the building. It might be small, but it can really impact their research.

If you could give one piece of advice to incoming students, what would it be?

Little and often. If you consistently do small pieces of work there are very few things that’ll feel like a struggle, but leave it to do in one big chunk? It’ll be a complete nightmare.

Are there any unique resources or opportunities available through your department that students might not be aware of?

1-2-1 appointments specifically for postgraduate careers and academic advice.

What's one thing you can’t survive a working day without?

My Bluetooth earphones! It means I can put one in and listen to a podcast and still be able to know what’s going on in the office.

Do you have any favourite inspirational quotes or mantras that keep you motivated in your work?

Despite the poetry thing, I’m not really the inspirational quotes type. I’d say I go through life with a “keep on keepin’ on” attitude, if that counts!

Do you think there are any unique challenges that students face today which are different to the challenges students faced in previous generations? What are they?

AI would be the no-brainer. It’s not even so much about the power of AI and plagiarism in my mind, but more the issue of students having equal access to AI. The other thing that comes to mind is trying to have a career or be academic in a world where you have to market yourself. Things like LinkedIn make it very hard for people to separate their personal lives from their work/academic lives I think, and that’s a lot to navigate when all you are trying to do is study or research something you're passionate about.

What's your favourite thing about Belfast that students should definitely check out?

The arts scene, or maybe the brunch spots. So many art galleries let you in for free and change every few months which is amazing, there’s even the Naughton Gallery literally in Queen’s!

If you could switch roles with any student for a day, which program or course would you choose, and why?

I’ve always wondered what it is like to work in a lab. Maybe biological sciences? I think it’d be interesting to look at science that’s alive right in front of your eyes.

What's your favourite book or movie that you think every student should experience?

Good Will Hunting might be a bit of a cliché but its definitely one of my favourites.

What types of music or podcasts do you enjoy listening to in your free time?

I’ll give anything a listen really, it depends on my mood. My all-time favourite podcast is Poetry Unbound with Pádraig Ó Tuama. The episodes are less than fifteen minutes long and analyse a different poem/poet in each one.

If you could travel back in time, which historical era would you visit and why?

Ancient Egypt. Two reasons, how did they build those pyramids? And to see the Library of Alexandria.