What have you been doing since graduating?  

Since graduating, I’ve been to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and now in full-time work! I knew I wanted to go back to the Fringe after volunteering there in 2022, and in 2023, I was invited back as a (paid) Technical Stage Manager – and I hope to go back next year too!

After coming back from a month and a half at the Fringe, I had a single weekend to move my things out from my student accommodation and into my flat in Surrey before starting a full-time job at Connect Live, where they do both corporate and music events. It was full on, but I’ve settled into working full time and could not be luckier with the people I now work with!

What did you do before studying at ALT?  

Before coming to ALT, I studied Music, Computing and Maths at A-Level; choosing the Academy was quite the curveball! I’ve always been a music student, and I knew I wanted to go into it as a career. At A-Level, I wanted to study Music Technology, but I couldn’t travel to a school that offered the course and didn’t consider going to a college instead. So, when I heard about ALT, by pure chance, I decided to go to an open day and was immediately sold!

What was your favourite part of studying at the ALT?  

It has to be the practical teaching – everything we learnt about in theory, we then went out and did it. Whether through a module in the course or as part of work experience. The courses are structured in such a way that everyone gets a chance to play to their strengths and try out different areas of interest, all with as much or as little support as we needed. 

What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?  

That’s a hard one… there’s been a few highlights! I’d love to say it was show calling at the Emirates stadium in front of 39,500 people, being asked to Stage Manage one of the biggest venues at The Pleasance as part of Edinburgh Fringe, or helping put together an e-sports tournament from the ground up, but I think it has to be being the Production Coordinator on the first-ever Rolling Stone UK Awards! Seeing the production come together slowly from day one, getting to sit for dinner during the awards ceremony, even the 22-hour shift, and then seeing the company logo in all the press releases, on social media and even in the newspapers. It was the feeling of “I did that!”, which I’ll never forget.   

How did ALT help with your career development?

ALT really has a focus on people skills, and that really helped me in my career development. Going through the school system, I was always happiest hiding in the back, but the Academy has a way of bringing out confidence in its students and empowering them to improve. Without this support, I would have struggled much more with interviews and professional interactions – even my emailing skills were improved!

What advice would you give someone who wants to study at the Academy of Live Technology? 

I would advise anyone wanting to study at ALT to attend as many events as they can! Once you gain an appreciation of what goes on in the background of all the events you see, the passion for it ignites and nothing will stop you from achieving your goals. Keeping an open mind and not limiting yourself to one genre of events also really helps, as you can discover a talent for something you may have never seen yourself doing before. 

What’s the most valuable thing you took away from your experience at ALT?

I think I have to say it was the attitude. I learned early on that people would much rather you ask about something you don’t understand than try anyway and break something! So, from then on I asked as much as I could (within reason!) while working. I also realised that what the people you work with value more than anything, even more than being really good at something, is good company. Being friendly, approachable, and generally just nice to people makes everyone have a good time, no matter how gruelling the work, and can often lead to you being asked back to do more work.

Want to start your degree in September 2024? It's not too late to apply! Join us at one of our next Open Days or get in touch with the team on enquiries@altech.ac.uk to arrange an individual campus tour around Production Park.