My first six months at Keele
By Adam Blakeman, Press Officer in Strategic Communications and Brand
It still felt like I’d only been at Keele for five minutes when my line manager told me I’d completed my first six months in the job. Thankfully he broke the news with a ‘thumbs up’ emoji on Teams, and didn’t ask me to hand in my staff ID card at the earliest opportunity.
Like many people, I can find change a bit daunting. I’m a fan of routine and consistency. Anyone who knows me will confirm I have the same sandwich — ham, cheese and mayonnaise — for dinner pretty much every day. And on the odd occasion, I treat myself to a meal deal from the shop, yep, you guessed it, still ham and cheese.
It was a big step for me on a personal level to decide it was time for a new challenge after nine years in my previous role at Stoke-on-Trent City Council. And it was by chance — or I like to think fate — that I came across a job advert for a press officer at Keele (deadline for applications less than 24 hours away) while sub-consciously scrolling through the internet on the sofa one night.
I’d visited Keele several times for work in my previous jobs — as well as having had one or two nights out in the Students’ Union over the years — and I’d always been impressed by the University, its facilities and the general atmosphere of the place. I love the outdoors and Keele’s green, sprawling campus always made me feel at home.
So how would I sum up my first six months at Keele? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it’s been history in the making. I’ve been very fortunate to be involved with the comms for not one but two graduation ceremonies, the first being the biggest-ever held at the University due to Covid postponements. We secured some fantastic coverage, including the Department for Education featuring our stories about a graduating mother and daughter, and two identical twins, on their social media pages. I was also asked to lead on the comms for the appointment of James Timpson OBE as only the fifth Chancellor in Keele’s history, which was a fantastic experience, and it was great to see his appointment welcomed so warmly by the Keele community and wider public.
Perhaps what has struck me the most, however, is just how many expert academics there are here at Keele. Many of these are leading in their sectors and are making tangible differences to people’s lives and the world, and that is something I didn’t truly understand or appreciate until I joined the team. From a press officer point of view, having such a talented pool of people at the University makes my job really fun when it comes to pitching interviews and stories to the media. Being able to influence the stories of the day and secure significant media coverage for our academics creates an exciting and dynamic work environment in the team. I’ve gone from securing an interview for one of our Professors on Sky Sports News about policing at the Champions League Final, to getting the Director of Keele Observatory on Sky News to talk about the launch of Artemis — and although it’s not me being interviewed personally, you still get a huge buzz from setting it up and securing a slot.
The Strategic Communications and Brand team at Keele are fantastic and have helped me to settle into my new job. There is an incredible amount of talent across the team, and I feel lucky to be part of it. And with a fresh influx of first-year students set to arrive at Keele in the coming weeks for the new academic year, I share their sense of excitement about the opportunities that lie ahead.
