Lucy
Job title
Marketing manager
Company and location
Noticias Aliadas, Peru
Industry sector
Media / Development
Background
Studied GCSE French
Degree in Geography, University of Leeds
Worked in marketing for a fair trade chocolate company
Spent six months working with street children in Ecuador
How did your interest in development and fair trade start?
During my Geography degree , my interest in Fair Trade and development issues led me to a first job in marketing for a Fair Trade chocolate producer. After a stint with a UK based new media agency, I then spent six months on a placement in Ecuador working with street children. Although I was a complete beginner in Spanish when I arrived in Ecuador, my knowledge and understanding of the language and culture grew very quickly in my time over there. I gave up languages at GCSE and thought I’d never really get to use them – how wrong I was!
Where are you working now?
On my return to the UK from Ecuador, I landed my ‘dream job’ in Lima with the news agency Noticias Aliadas (Latinamerica Press), combining my passion for ethical consumerism and development issues with my newly acquired ‘colloquial Spanish’. I will be specialising in on-line and off-line marketing for North and Latin America, and advocacy; ensuring that our information gets to the key decision makers in the region, so that they are aware of the affect that their decisions have on marginalised populations living there. The prospect of using the language in the office seems a bit scary at the moment, but I know for a fact that the ability to use Spanish was key in my appointment.
Any tips?
With hindsight, I realise that even the basic grounding in GCSE French all those years ago has given me an understanding of ‘how to learn a language’. I’m certain this will be invaluable as I strengthen my knowledge of the language in this new business area. So remember, even the basics make a difference!
Source: Regional Language Network London