We recently caught up with Business Management and Finance graduate, Jessica Rajput, on her time at St Mary’s.
Jessica was a Student Ambassador during her time at university, working with the Widening Participation team.
We asked Jessica about her experience being a Student Ambassador, as well as what she has been up to since graduating.
What made you choose Business Management and Finance at St Mary’s?
There weren’t many universities offering business and finance combined, so when I found St Mary’s it was perfect. I also didn’t want to have a long commute to university and knew I wanted to live at home, so again St Mary’s worked really well.
Before going to St Mary’s, I went on one of the open days where I met really lovely people and the atmosphere was great. It’s funny because I actually met one of my best friends on the open days! We both ended up on the same course at St Mary’s, and have now been friends for five years. I really liked the lecturers and the way they delivered the sessions, which made me decide that I wanted to go there.
I also went on other open days at other universities, but it was clear that St Mary’s had a real community feel. I was really drawn into the feeling that everyone at St Mary’s wants to help each other.
How did you find St Mary’s?
Throughout my time at St Mary’s, it always felt like lecturers were involved and wanted the best for you. Whereas talking to friends at other universities, they would say that it felt like lecturers didn’t really care. I think having that support made me enjoy my degree much more as well.
St Mary’s is not such a massive university, so everyone is just super friendly and supportive. Everyone can relate and understand that university is hard, it’s almost like you're back at nursery again. It really helped that everyone was on the same boat and I just loved that everyone was together.
Can you tell me about your experience as a Student Ambassador?
One of the best things I did during my time at St Mary’s was work as a Student Ambassador and then a Senior Student Ambassador.
I started off with the Widening Participation team, and I really enjoyed getting to work with sixth form and college students. I found that I was able to relate to them because I've come from a similar background where you don't grow up around a lot of money. I could understand how these students were struggling and where they might need help, which was really rewarding and felt like a full-circle moment.
I also met some great friends as a Student Ambassador, and I still speak to them all the time and we still meet up even though we’ve left university. I'm still in contact with everyone on the Student Ambassador team at St Mary's, so it's just a really warm community feeling which I really love.
What have you been up to since graduating?
I left St Mary’s in 2022, but during my third year I got a finance assistant role for a children's toy company. Once I graduated, they promoted me to a financial analyst. I was there for about a year and then I actually ended up leaving to become a commercial finance analyst. I work with a fast moving consumer goods company so I work under really like highly recognised brands. For me, I think having that exposure in business and finance at university helped me get this job because it's a mixture of business, marketing, and finance.
I now work really closely with directors and doing the budgets for companies, essentially helping the company to grow. They're also sponsoring me to complete my chartered accountancy qualifications as well. I was already part qualified in chartered accountancy because of my degree at St Mary’s, so it was really nice that the company offered to help me complete that.
How did St Mary’s prepare you for you career?
Being a Student Ambassador really shapes you as a person and gives you great experience in dealing with people, as well as different areas of work. Going to university also helped me understand myself better and what I want for myself in life, particularly it made it clear what I wanted to do with my career. St Mary’s definitely got me to where I am now. I've always been a very talkative person, but the University really helped with my confidence through networking and putting myself out there.
I've honestly loved my journey at St Mary's, and I would love to go back and relive it all again.