The Graduate Award

Fcgoulding1@gmail.com The Graduate Award By Fay Goulding
1
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

2
PRODUCTION AND DESIGN WORK – With Sheffield University Theatre Companies
2013 till present
Approx. 60 hours of participation
Activity Description
Sheffield University Theatre Company (SUTCO) are an amateur theatre company formed
entirely of students. I have been involved in four plays as part of the design team. Not only
was I responsible for the design work, but I was also expected to attend a sufficient amount of
rehearsals and help the production team with the ‘Get In’, technical rehearsal and dress run.
The Get In would involve helping move all the props, set and costume into the theatre space,
along with setting up all the technical elements, taking an average of 12 hours to complete.
Transferable Skill: Applying creativity
During my time with SUTCO I was able to demonstrate my creative skills through design
and composition. As a production team we were required to constantly communicate with
each other to ensure our designs collaborated well together. We would also be given
guidelines to ensure our creative designs were not taken too far. Most of the time the director
would only have a general idea of what they wanted, so there was usually room for creative
development and also a chance to suggest innovative ideas of your own. This would always
be more exciting for me as a designer, as it meant there was more freedom in what I could
create. However, I had experienced one director who knew exactly what she wanted,
resulting in many of my creative ideas being rejected. Nevertheless, I adapted my designs to
her visions, yet continued to suggest my own ideas to ensure my creativity was used to its full
potential.
Supporting Evidence
1. Photos of my design work (P.3-6).
2. Copy of the programs with my name in them (P.7-8).

3
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
PRODUCTION AND DESIGN
WORK – With Sheffield
University Theatre Companies
SOUND & MUSIC/ART
WORK - SUTCO’s ‘That Face’
Performed 12th-15th February
2014.
P.6
LIGHTING DESIGNER -
SUTCO’s ‘The depth of field’
Performed 23rd-26th October
2013.
P.7
PROJECTION & POSTER
DESIGNER - SUTCO’s ‘The
White Devil’
Performed 26th-1st March 2014.
P.8
LIGHTING DESIGNER -
SUTCO’s ‘Merchant of Venice’
Performed 12th-15th March
2014.
P.9

4

5

6

7
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EVIDENCE (B)
Programs for each performance with my name in them

8
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EVIDENCE (B)
Programs for each performance with my name in them

9
ENTERPRISE
ONLINE COURSE – With Future Learn 9th Feb-29th March 2015
Course Description
The course was split into two sections: ‘How to Succeed at Writing Applications’ and ‘How
to Succeed at Interviews’. Through videos, animations, articles and discussions the course
gradually takes you through the stages of writing a professional application and how you can
flourish in subsequent interviews. The course would occasionally ask you to complete tasks,
contribute to discussions and/or finish with a short quiz to summarise everything you have
learned. To help with the learning process I would make notes and print any documents or
templates that were provided. These have been filed and kept for future reference.
Transferable Skill: Time management
Alongside the course I was balancing my university work, rehearsals for an upcoming play
and cheerleading practice. As the Course gives you the freedom to work at your own pace, I
was worried it would become overlooked and pushed to the back of my priorities list. I
therefore set aside a certain amount of hours a week to dedicate my time towards completing
the course. This way I was able to write substantial notes, take part in some of the online
activities and print out documents I felt would be useful for me in the future. I would also
ensure that I had spent more time on the things that were more relevant to me personally, to
ensure I got the best out of the course. By managing my time successfully it meant I could
take my time where necessary during the learning process. The course was completed
comfortably before the deadline and did not get in the way of any other commitments, thus
showing my ability to time manage effectively.
Supporting evidence
1. Certificate of Participation.
2. Screen shots of my profile and participation in discussions (P.10).

10

11
THE UNIVERSITY AND ITS COMMUNITY
COURSE REPRESENTATIVE for Theatre and Performance, and CHAIRPERSON of the
School of English SSC meetings - Sep 2013-Jul 2014
Job Description
Being Chairperson required a lot of responsibility in communicating with my peers to ensure
a date that suited everyone was set and an agenda was created for each meeting. I was also
required to govern the meetings and ensure they were run efficiently and effectively. During
these meetings it was essential to have the confidence to speak up and fight for your cause,
and then be prepared to make important decisions on how these issues can be resolved. As a
course representative I was required to keep a close relationship with my course peers,
primarily through email, social media and class announcements, to encourage them to talk to
me about certain issues they may have.
Transferable Skill: Overcoming a problem
Whilst being a course representative, one of my most challenging tasks was creating an
activity for ‘The Art of Work’ event, in which we encountered a number of problems during
the process. The job required an immense amount of organisation and regular communication
with collaborators and potential candidates to lead the activity. Unfortunately, due to personal
reasons, our main organiser was forced to drop out, requiring me to take over. This was
extremely difficult as she had not kept me updated throughout the process, meaning I was
bombarded by information and correspondence emails which became confusing and stressful
to sort through. We also found a lack of support from the events manager who had not
advertised event at all, and informed us last minute that this was a job for ourselves. As a
consequence the turnout of the entire event was extremely disappointing. Our experience had
taught us that communication is key and effective advertising is essential when organising an
event like this. Although we did not achieve the audience we wanted we persevered and, by
doing so, had successfully achieved our goal in organising an event within the restricted time
limit we had.
Supporting Evidence
1. Screenshots of agendas I wrote whilst being chairman (P.12)
2. Emailed confirmation of my attendance as a course representative (P.13)

12

13
UNIVERSITY AND ITS COMMUNITY EVIDENCE (B)
Emailed confirmation of my attendance as a course representative
To whom it may concern,
I can confirm that Fay Goulding was the chairperson of the Student
Staff Committee, 2013-14, and was a highly valuable individual on the
team, coordinating and managing an event, 'The Art of Work' involving
external participants, such as 'Invisible Flock', the theatre company.
Please contact me at m.callaghan@sheffield.ac.uk if you require any
further information.
Yours,
Madeleine Callaghan

14
WORK EXPERIENCE
GENERAL ADMIN AND OFFICE ASSISTANT - DC Law Jun 2012 till present
Approx. 1,400 hours of participation
Job Description
During three years at Sheffield University I have maintained a job working full time over the
holidays with DC Law, a Licenced Conveyancing firm who help clients with the legal side of
buying and selling houses. Primarily, I took a supporting role by assisting my colleagues in
file opening, taking calls, drafting letters, passing on messages, filing documents and general
admin work. Higher responsibilities would occasionally include dealing with customer’s
queries or complaints when the case handler is unavailable and investigating files, solving
their issues and resolving them as quickly and effectively as possible. I have also taken part
in extra training sessions, team building exercises and team meetings.
Transferable skill: Team work
Whilst working with DC Law, team work and communication were essential skills to ensure
deadlines were met. My team would therefore assign each other jobs with challenging, yet
achievable, goals to help us hit our targets. A rota was created to guarantee all messages and
emails were picked up on a daily basis. We would also try to make the extra effort to help each
other out when appropriate. Sometimes my jobs would be less urgent and have no specific
deadline, but I would always maintain in setting myself a target to ensure I was helping my
team by reducing the workload as efficiently as possible. During my time with DC Law I
noticed the filing system was confusing and frequently used incorrectly. I therefore used my
initiative and reorganised the filing cabinets to create a tidier, more organised environment. My
team were extremely grateful as files were easier to find, thus making a huge difference to our
workload. Although I had lost time by reorganising the filing cupboard, by doing so it meant I
had benefited the team as a whole.
Supporting Evidence
1. A reference from my previous manager Heather Ward (P.15).
2. Copy of a P60 end of year certificate.

15
WORK EXPERIENCE EVIDENCE (A)
Reference
For the attention of the Sheffield Graduate Awards Team
I am writing this reference for Faye Goulding as her holiday employer.
I was the Completions and Post Completions Manager at DC Law at Grant Hall, Parsons
Green, St Ives, Cambridgeshre PE27 4AA from January 2011 until 25th February 2015, when
I retired
Faye worked for my team during her university holidays, We always welcomed Faye back to
our team as she was very bright, committed and thorough in her work for us.
Faye soon grasped some quite difficult legal concepts, especially in leasehold matters and
applied them by reading through files, identifying problems or outstanding points and using
her own initiative continued working on the file until she obtained a resolution.
Faye always demonstrated a positive "can do" attitude towards her work and I can thoroughly
recommend her work ethic and commitment to any future potential employer in the future.
If you would like me to respond to any specific enquiries, then I would be happy to do so.
Kind rehards
Yours sincerely
Heather Ward MA FCILEX
6 Robin Hood Road
Huddersfield
HD2 1NR

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MY PERSONAL LEARNING AND EVALUATION
CAREER PLANNING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
How useful do you think your extra curricula activities will be for your future
employment or further study?
During my time at Sheffield University I have applied myself to a variety of extracurricular
activities, which I feel have enhanced me as a person and allowed me to develop a range of
skills that can be transferred into any work place. For instance, throughout my time with DC
Law I have improved my investigation skills through examining files and solving problems. I
believe this to be an extremely valuable skill as it requires attentiveness, knowledge of the
field and competence. Although we worked closely as a team, the job also involved a certain
aspect of independence, both of which are considered important within any work place. I
have also enhanced my communication and customer service skills through extensive training
and developing close relationships with my clients. Whilst working with SUTCO I have been
able to contribute my own ideas, challenge myself artistically and enhance my creative skills.
However I was also required to meet with the criteria of the director and stick to tight
deadlines. In doing so I have shown my strengths as an individual, but also my ability to
work as part of a team and hit targets effectively. In volunteering to be chairman of the course
representative meetings, I had challenged myself by taking a role that would usually be out of
my comfort zone. As a result I have grown in confidence, immensely improved my
communication, organisation and leadership skills and shown my capability to adapt to a new
role and team. Throughout my Future Learn course I have taught myself time management
and learned to prioritise my work effectively. The Future Learn course has helped me
develop my application writing and interview skills, which will prove valuable when
applying for jobs in the future. By applying myself to such a range of activities/job roles, I
have developed a diverse variety of transferable skills and experiences, and also become a
more confident and well-rounded person as a whole.

17
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Which of your activities did you enjoy the most and why? What did you gain
most from?
The most enjoyable activity I have taken part in, during my time at University, was the design
work I did for SUTCO. I have always been a creative person and took a great pleasure in
being able to apply this to a specific field of work. Although most of my other experiences
still allowed a certain level of independence and resourcefulness, they did not have the same
satisfaction as seeing your design develop from a simple idea to a final product. It was
extremely rewarding, especially when your work was a part of a performance that was
watched and appreciated by hundreds of people. Whilst working with SUTCO I had
developed close working relationships with team members, thus making the experience far
more enjoyable and giving the feeling of being part of a community. Shown through my
extensive work and ability to hit deadlines, I have shown that I can work well independently.
However, by working as part of a production team I have also shown my ability to work
effectively with people. In total I have worked on four individual shows, all of which have
required me to become accustomed to a new production team, a new schedule and a new
concept. This was something I believe I adapted well to each time. From working in lighting
design, with no previous technical experience, to designing, generating and editing over ten
detailed images from scratch, I have rose to every challenge given to me. My experience with
SUTCO was like no other. It has helped me develop a number of transferable skills, grow in
confidence and, most importantly, enjoy every moment of it.

18
SKILLS AND ATRIBUTES
As a result of taking the Graduate award, what skills do you now consider to be
your strengths and why?
Shown through my design work with SUTCO I believe my creativity is one of my biggest
strengths. Fine art and design has always been a hobby of mine, but by working with SUTCO
I have been able to develop my artistic skills and apply them to something much bigger that
my own personal pleasure. I have also been able to apply my creativity to other activities, for
instance when I was involved in the Art of Work project during my time as a course
representative. My time management and organisational skills have improved drastically
during my time at university, as I have had to juggle many extracurricular activities along
with my university commitments. By taking so much on I was forced to organise myself
effectively to ensure I did not fall behind. In doing so, it has become second nature to me and
I would now consider it to be one of my greatest strengths. These organisational skills have
been transferred into my work with DC Law, where I have been able to manage my work
more efficiently. As an employee of DC Law I have been fortunate enough to have had a
fantastic supervisor and extensive training in many fields of work. These have especially
allowed me to develop my communication and customer service skills. For instance, I can
now speak confidently to clients over the phone and in person, I am currently able to write
professional and coherent letters/emails to clients and I understand the company’s values of
good customer care and service. My confidence was low before I started DC Law, so I would
find it difficult to talk to clients and would always rely on other people to tell me what to do.
Over time my confidence, and therefore my communication skills, have developed
significantly over the years which I consider a great personal achievement.

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