Ellie Stroud

How did you hear about Leeds University Business School and why did you choose to study here?

BSc International Business with Marketing is a fascinating area to specialise in. The uniqueness of the course combined with the Business School's global rankings, meant I was attracted to Leeds straight away.

I knew I wanted a campus university in the middle of a big city, which Leeds certainly delivers, and the feeling I got when I visited Leeds on an Open Day made me sure that Leeds was the only place I wanted to go.

Tell us about your degree - why did you choose it? What elements of the degree inspired you to study it?

I chose my degree because I enjoyed Business, Politics and Geography at A-Level and thought it was a good mix of these subjects. It is a really relevant degree to do at the moment in the current climate, and it equips you well for having a global mind-set which is growing in importance in an increasingly globalised world.

I added the marketing element in too as I'm not purely creative and not purely analytical, so I thought this would be a great way to get exposure to use both sides of my brain.

What is the best part of your studies? What are you enjoying the most?

I really enjoy the adaptability of the degree. Its variety covers everything from marketing research to cross-cultural management, so I've found that I've developed a wide variety of academic skills from it. The lecturers are passionate about their research, so learning from them is really interesting. I've also really enjoyed being able to expand my degree through Discovery Modules, such as Events Management and Economic Geography.

What are your career aspirations? Do you think the experience and skills you will gain from your degree course will help you in your future career plans? In what way?

I feel this degree is very adaptable to a wide variety of career options depending on what interests people. For me, I'd love to have an international career, so at the moment I'm interested in going into international marketing. However, I did an internship in stakeholder communications, so that's also a potential option as well.

Have you taken up any of the extra opportunities available to you and what was your experience of these? Any highlights?

Leeds University Business School has seemingly endless opportunities. I've been lucky enough to contextualise the international element of my degree through a summer school in Hong Kong and a study year abroad in Sweden.

Culture is one of the key themes when studying International Business. As such, by studying abroad, I was able to explore cultural similarities and differences in both an academic setting such as group work and seeing with my friends on a daily basis. I took a variety of modules which also helped develop areas I had studied at Leeds, for example – International Business Law, Leadership and Change Management and Social Anthropology, which challenged me to think about some of the concepts from an international view-point.

Through the Nurturing Talent Mentor Scheme, I had a fantastic mentor who gave me a wealth of employability opportunities. Having had a few years’ experience in retail, I knew it was an area in which I wanted to get more of an understanding of career opportunities, so I was delighted to be matched with a Mentor who worked for M&S.

Over the year, my mentor introduced me to a wide variety of her colleagues, including in recruitment and I got the change to visit other stores such as Sheffield and Doncaster, along with the Head Office in London. This helped me gain some valuable understanding of the industry and graduate job options, along with highlighting the relevant skills and experience needed for each role.

What is your impression/experience of the facilities, the staff, your peers, the student union, the City of Leeds and the Yorkshire region?

Fantastic! The Business School is a great community of people who really want to achieve and make the most of their time which really drives you to perform. The course is really international – it is so interesting to gain first-hand insight to other cultures and countries alongside the theoretical basis.

Leeds itself is an incredibly vibrant city with lots of investment in different sectors, but it’s still a cheap place to be a student. I'm from the countryside so having all this combined with the accessibility of the Yorkshire Dales really means that Leeds has it all.

Are there any other experiences outside of your studies that you have particularly enjoyed? What would you recommend to future students?

There is never a dull or quiet moment in Leeds, and I've gained the best memories from it. There is so much to get involved with, regardless of your interests.

Leeds University Union has over 300 different wide ranging societies. I've been involved in a variety of different things, from Hall Exec in first year, to being on society committees and also playing sports. This year, I'm also doing two volunteering roles for the University, in umpiring and media which I'm really enjoying.

Would you recommend the Business School to others who are considering studying here?

Most definitely. I've loved every moment of my time in Leeds and couldn't recommend it enough. It gives you so many opportunities and memories, whilst boosting your employability skills but also giving you an awareness of how best to show this skill set to employers.