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From academia to the airwaves

"Liverpool Hope University has opened up a lot of opportunities for me," Mia began.

"At 18, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do as a career. It took me a while to realise that, actually, it’s okay to not know what you want to do at this age; that you need to experience different things to realise where your passions lie.

"So when I started looking at subjects, I chose one that I enjoyed studying during my A Levels – and that was English Language."

‘Hope stood out for me’

Having decided on her subject, Mia started looking into where she wanted to go to university. ‘Liverpool Hope stood out to me for several reasons,’ she said. "Firstly, the University was good for the subject I was interested in studying.

"But on top of that, I liked the fact it’s a campus university – it was different to my other options."

She went on to explain one of the reasons why Liverpool Hope stood out for her: "The area around the University is also great. You have places like Sefton Park close by, which is a huge green space and is so pretty. And you’re close enough to the city centre to get there within 15 minutes.

"That is a great advantage of going to Hope, because you literally get the best of both worlds."

Fast forward three years, and Mia was keen to express how her time at Hope has helped open up different paths for her. "One of the main highlights for me was my involvement in the Afro Caribbean Society (ACS) – a lot of my interests expanded from there."

From society fun to podcasting pro

"We’d meet up for social events every month and also socialise with ACS societies from the other universities in Liverpool.

"I was actually President of the society in the second year of my degree, and it was through my involvement with the ACS that I met my friend Rachel," she said.

With a growing interest in debating, Mia soon realised that Rachel had the same interests and goals. "We both wanted a platform on which we could share our thoughts on certain issues. It just felt like a natural step to start a podcast together.

"Every week, we choose a topic and have a discussion about it," she explained. "We’ve discussed things like the benefits and weaknesses of social media, and fast fashion and its environmental impact," she said.

Mixing it up with live broadcasting

"We’re actually exploring opportunities in radio at the moment."

She continued: "We’ve had a spot on an independent radio station that’s based in the Baltic Triangle in Liverpool, and we tailored our show and added more music to the mix."

"It was so much fun and we’re actually going to be hosting a monthly show on the same radio station going forward. We’ve also been asked to host a live podcast for an exhibition happening in Liverpool in 2020, so it’s great to be able to explore that passion further."

Opening doors

"My university experience has been amazing on so many different levels – from my course, to the friends I’ve made, to the societies I’ve joined.

"At Hope, I’ve got involved in as much as I can and have been lucky enough to find something that I love doing. And I think that’s the great thing about going to university – it opens up so many doors for you."