Laura left Queen's in 2005 and is now a marketing and advertising account handler.
Laura Lancaster (Evans) left Queen’s in 2005 and is now an account handler in the field of marketing and advertising, currently working for Taxi Studio in Bristol.
Her original degree course was classical studies at Bristol University – inspired by the passionate Queen’s classics teacher, Mrs Griffiths - followed by a Master’s in reception and critical theory. Laura had previously taken four A-Levels in English literature, psychology, maths and classics –particularly useful subjects as they helped Laura develop her essay and analytical skills.
At school, she was involved in chamber choir and orchestra and was generally a very sociable person who got on with lots of different people – very useful skills in her current job. At university Laura went to many careers talks to try and find what she would enjoy doing, which is where she heard someone from an advertising agency give a talk. She was immediately hooked!
Laura applied for a graduate scheme and got an interview, at which she decided that this job would be perfect for her. Unfortunately the interview did not go as well as she’d hoped because of her lack of experience, but she was lucky enough to be told to return in a year after gaining more experience. Laura spent a year involved in advertising work for charities in Chester, helping with fundraising and working at a marketing agency in North Wales. Her immersion in the industry really helped her to understand what the career would involve and how much she would like it. Having always loved film and television advertisements, but being less artistically-minded, Laura soon realised that being an account handler would be a perfect fit. Being good at multi-tasking, Laura knew she would relish the challenge of working with clients, managing productions and getting to know lots of different people.
After an internship, Laura applied for ten different graduate schemes. She got two interviews and was ultimately accepted to work at M&C Saatchi – the well-known global advertising agency situated in London. It turned out that Laura had been chosen to work there as one of five people out of the thousand who applied, an example of how competitive but also how rewarding the industry can be.
“Working in a big city is an incredible experience.” Laura said “There is such a variety of people and an indescribable buzz!” Laura declares that advertising and marketing involves many young, energetic and enthusiastic people and is such a friendly environment to work in – she’s so glad she took those steps!
Interview by Ella Samuel, Year 12