Standing out from the crowd
BSc (Hons) Events Management graduate Georgina Dyke
Georgina Dyke had planned to study adult nursing at Plymouth, even securing a conditional offer, but a week of work experience on a hospital ward made her rethink her path. Not long after, she helped her mum organise a fundraising event after a family friend passed away – an experience that sparked her interest in events and charity work and set her on a new direction. Georgina enrolled on a foundation year before progressing to BSc (Hons) Events Management.
“I absolutely adored coming to university here, although I didn’t necessarily have the traditional experience. I was only a couple of years out, but I was still classed as a mature student, and I didn’t live in halls.
Of my main group of four friends at school, three of us stayed in Plymouth for our degrees. People travel because they want the traditional university experience, but we felt we could achieve that here. You just get a feeling, a sense of community.
I did consider other universities, but when I visited I couldn’t imagine being there – I’d have struggled to be myself.”
Georgina has many happy memories of her time studying for her degree, from late night library sessions to an amazing trip to Prague. A particular highlight for her was working on the UK Inbound Tourism conference, with Destination Plymouth, which was great hands-on experience, and she got to take delegates onto one of the submarines in Devonport Dockyard.
Aside from the course itself, she also took the incredible opportunity to travel to China for a month to learn Mandarin with a group of students from various courses.
The great thing about the events degree is that it’s very dynamic, there are many facets to it and a lot of those we see every day in real practice. The lecturers were phenomenal, they really encouraged working together as a team and always being open to new ideas.
Shaping a career in events management
“A job came up at St Luke’s Hospice, Plymouth, for an events fundraiser. I was called back for a second interview, and I was adamant I wanted this job. I phoned my partner and told him I was going to the interview in my pyjamas, and I needed him to sponsor me. His reaction was ‘you can’t do that, they’ll send you away!’ but I knew I needed to stand out from the crowd. My mum was also completely against it, and told me it was a big risk – but I thought no, I’m going to do it, what have I got to lose? I rocked up to the interview in my Christmas pyjamas with £150 of sponsorship money in my pocket!”
Georgina’s gamble paid off, and she was offered the job. She has been there now for six and a half years, starting off as an events fundraiser, before being promoted to events manager.
During a challenging time for charities, St Luke’s was facing a deficit and she wanted to do something to try and bridge the gap.
“What had worked well for the charity was the Elmer’s Big Parade Plymouth sculpture trail, so I put a business case together to grow the events in this area. We’ve expanded to become a larger team, and we run all the mass-participation events for St Luke’s. We’re currently working on St Luke’s Guiding Lights, an amazing trail of lighthouse sculptures around the city. My events target is around half a million each year, and then the sculpture trail will aim to raise at least £300,000 over the period of two years, but it’s also about raising awareness. We’re working on an education piece, encouraging children and young adults to be able to talk about death and dying in an age-appropriate way. It’s not just about the money, and I feel really lucky to be part of that.”
