Two topics have always reigned over my personal interests: people and storytelling – and the way in which the latter is just a way of genuinely engaging with the former. I was born into a multicultural family of bombastic, natural-born storytellers, who taught me daily how central narrative is in forging connections with people across languages and cultures. Although I might have been my household’s most reticent member, I quickly developed an admiration for this art, especially as it became essential in my experience as an overseas student in England.
Those were the passions I pursued through a Modern Languages and Literature degree at university, marvelling at how people across continents anchor and broadcast their identities through the narratives they craft. Alongside my degree, I made time for the usual share of well-meaning attempts at taking up rowing, ‘finding-myself’ travels to colonial Mexican towns and sleepy Swedish settlements, joyful forays into student journalism, and a (recently resolved) love-hate relationship with Medieval Italian poetry about the afterlife.
As the end of my time, as a student began to loom, I found myself wondering how my long-time interest in storytelling might translate into a real-world job. To my surprise, it took only one visit to Oxford’s Career Service office and a glance through TVE’s core values and mission to answer this question. As I participated in TVE’s Assessment Day, learning about the company’s work in enabling brands to clearly define their essence and to express it meaningfully to a range of different audiences, I understood I had come to the right place. Brand consultancy revealed to me a thrilling application of my personal interests that I had not envisioned before.
I am thrilled to be joining TVE in this stimulating, bustling environment, and to continue learning to ground my creative passions in rigorous thinking and analytical deliberation – a skillful balance that is the company’s hallmark. I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into the wealth of learning opportunities and challenges coming my way, and to contributing to the intriguing work that TVE do.