Antonia’s testimonial

Antonia is music editor at online magazine gal-dem. In addition to her love of music, Antonia has a passion for radio and was paired with with radio producer from content company Somethin’ Else, Nikita Chauhan. They worked to increase her radio experience. Nikita quickly had Antonia helping out on shows for BBC Radio 1 Xtra, Asian Network and Radar Radio. Antonia was singled out as ‘One to Watch’, is currently working across a number of shows for and pitches for BBC Radio 1, 1 Xtra, The Asian Network and BBC 6Music and was offered a full-time role as Assistant Producer at Somethin’ Else in September 2017.

Antonia recently produced a BBC Radio 1 and 1 Xtra’s Too Dark to Mention, investigating how Colourism affects young people in the UK.

Of the programme, Antonia said:

“Meet a Mentor has challenged my expectations in more ways than one. Since my mid-teens I have come to appreciate and value the importance of having a role model on the trajectory I look towards. Growing up in a creative environment (and often being the youngest), I have constantly looked up to elders in my social and working circles for advice on the do’s and don’ts.

Reaching a stage in my life and career where I am becoming increasingly aware that I am wholly responsible for the decisions I make (I can’t hide behind my elders forever) has been slightly overwhelming for me to come to terms with and Meet a Mentor came at the perfect time to enable me to step into this phase with guidance from someone who is completely removed.

Not only was the match pretty much perfect in terms of career goals but mine Nikita’s relationship has really blossomed professionally and personally — it’s been great to know that she will always be honest and constructive. Touching base once a month motivated me to be proactive and genuinely have some sort of progress to feed back to my mentor/ wider team.

The simple act of being encouraged to speak publicly for 30 mins about myself and my progression pushed me to reflect and pat myself on my back for some achievements that had gone overlooked. In turn, it has given me the extra boost to look toward the long-term and set some goals as I didn’t see the potential benefits until completing this scheme.

Thank you Fran for being one of the few people around who truly care about what you do and want to see young people win. I appreciate you and every inch of energy that you put into this.”