Georgia Hughes
French Studies with Arabic, graduated in 2019
Project Coordinator, British Red Cross Refugee Services

Since graduating I have had three jobs. Firstly, I went to Paris to work as an English teacher, then on my return to the UK, I started to work for the British Red Cross Refugee Services as a Project Coordinator for their Family Reunion Integration Service.

Working for the Red Cross allowed me to use my languages as the refugee families with whom we would work often came from French-speaking countries in Africa such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and we had many Arabic speaking families from Sudan to Kuwait. It was great to be able to use my languages directly with the families we worked with without having to use a translator because it meant that there was a stronger connection and sense of trust between us.

Without having studied Arabic ab initio at Warwick, I doubt that I would be doing what I am today, studying an MA in Politics and International Relations of the Middle East.

Claudia Lussana
Hispanic and Italian, graduated 2017
Training for a PGCE as a Modern Foreign Languages teacher

After spending the last three and a half years abroad (including a short stint teaching English in Soweto, South Africa as part of the charity organisation, Warwick in Africa) I am finally back on British soil. I am currently working as a trainee teacher at a school in Surrey whilst in the process of completing my PGCE as a Modern Foreign Languages teacher.

A prominent memory from Warwick is my year abroad. It was a hard time to beat; from sand boarding in the Atacama Desert, climbing active volcanoes, and galloping through sand dunes on horseback, to endless espressos and frequently getting swept away in Palio processions lead by horses and groups of patriotic, flag-waving Sienese fashioning medieval pantaloons. After effectively setting up a life for myself in two different countries, attending university in two foreign languages, and trekking the length and breadth of South America and Italy all in the space of a year, the memories of that year will stay with me forever.

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Joseph Lewsey
French and German Studies, graduated in 2016
Patent Translator for the World Intellectual Property Organization

After graduating, I completed an MA in Applied Translation Studies, then got a job as a patent translator for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva from September 2017, focussing predominantly on translating patent texts from German into English. Since March 2018 I have been working remotely for WIPO back in the UK.

The language and translation skills developed in the language modules were naturally invaluable for my current line of work, but also honing my writing skills and analytical skills in the content modules, as in my profession I need to put much thought into how I phrase and structure each sentence in the legal texts. Finally, as my first job was based in Switzerland, the fact I had already lived abroad for a year and done volunteer placements abroad meant I was well-prepared for a career with an international focus.

My language degree gave me the global outlook I needed to work within the UN system, as you work with people from all around the world on a daily basis.

Alexandra Kirby
Business and German
Marketing Research Associate, Berlin

After graduating with a first-class degree, I moved to Berlin, having received a job offer from Studio71 (a subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE), in which I had completed an internship during my year abroad. I worked firstly as an Artist & Repertoire Manager, a talent scout role for online influencers. I then moved to the sales team, where I was responsible for brand-artist collaborations within the beauty, fashion and lifestyle segment.

All of this work was in German, so my language skills were in use all day, every day. I am now a Marketing Research Associate at the Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin, part-time content writer at Think.Speak.Transform, as well as a doctoral student at the University of Twente. I am currently in my second year of a four-year programme, and my research topic is artificial intelligence and brand voice. I have just submitted my first journal paper, an empirical study of how far consumers perceive artificially generated promotional material as authentic.

Sam Colman
English and French, graduated in 2019
Trainee Solicitor at Norton Rose Fulbright

After graduating with a first-class degree in English and French, I studied for an MSc in Global Governance and Ethics and founded a podcast called Global Governance Futures. After graduating I secured a spring vacation scheme and consequent training contract with the city law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

One of the key reasons I chose the firm was the quantity of international work and the recruiters’ interest in applicants who sought this challenge. Here, the experience on my year abroad was undoubtedly one of the key elements of my time at Warwick that boosted my employability. With over 50 offices globally at the firm I work for, most tasks carried out by a trainee will involve multiple jurisdictions (countries). This means that lawyers from different offices around the world will be working together throughout the 24-hour day on a specific deal. Flexibility and an appetite for working abroad is important within international commercial law, be that a secondment or a drop-of-the-hat trip.