As a BA (Hons) Sports Business and Sports Broadcasting student, Rebecca Flitton is not afraid to take on multiple challenges at once – juggling two jobs in sport alongside her degree. Here, the UCFB Wembley student shares how she’s now more motivated than ever and how her friends have helped her through it all…

Tell us about your role as Head of Social Media at Hemel Hempstead FC and what it involves.

As Head of Social Media, I organise a team of eight people consisting of videographers, commentators, and reporters to help run all the social media platforms for Hemel Hempstead.

During the week, my role is to ensure all posts go out on the platforms at the correct times, work out who is going to be at the upcoming games and update the website with the latest match statistics. Then when match day arrives, I produce live written commentary for the club’s twitter account.

What has been your personal highlight of the role so far?

My personal highlight of the role so far is seeing the finished products from all the media roles go live on the social media platforms, as well as them having a positive response. This role has allowed me to put my leadership skills into place and therefore I am able to guide the team and help them perform to the best of their abilities, producing high quality content which is really rewarding.

What have you brought into your role from your BA (Hons) Sports Business & Sports Broadcasting programme?

When I was hired for this job, I knew I could take a variety of skills I had learnt in my lectures and seminars to help me produce the best content for the club. For example, with the help of Sam Smith I could take my editing skills learnt in lectures to put towards my post-match interviews and highlights that were created for the team.

You also work as a Content Creator for Football Icon Academy. Tell us about the work you do and how it’s built your knowledge of the sports industry.

So, Football Icon Academy was set up by Adam Cash, the brother of Aston Villa and Poland international right back Matty Cash, to help develop the next footballing generation. I work alongside Adam to produce content for his social media platforms to help expand the company.

I attend training every other day to capture videos and photos of the sessions to then edit and upload to the accounts. This job has helped build my knowledge around editing and creating videos to a high standard and helped to build my confidence as I have to travel around centres meeting new people every week.

How have you found balancing the roles alongside your degree?

At first when I was recruited for both these roles, I did worry I would struggle to balance them with university, but I shouldn’t have worried at all. I make sure every week I update my diary, so I know exactly where I am every day and can plan what days to dedicate to completing uni work. Not only this but I’d like to thank my flatmates as they help to organise uni workdays around all my shifts so we can all help each other.

How did you find the GIS Miami Global Summit earlier this year?

The GIS Miami Global Summit has helped to develop my communication and confidence skills massively by challenging me to step out my comfort zone at networking events and presenting a case study at the end of the week. Also, the range of sporting events was incredible - we got to experience the Baseball, MLS and Ice Hockey which are events I have never seen before. It was an unbelievable opportunity, and I would definitely recommend the global summits to everyone.

In fact, I’ve just got back from another one - I travelled to the Atlanta Global Hub and had an equally as good experience!

How have you found your time at UCFB overall so far?

My time at UCFB has been incredible and I can’t believe I’m in my final year already - the years have flown by! I have made some great friends that I am grateful for and the lectures I have had over the years have been brilliant and so engaging helping me to learn and develop new skills.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to study at UCFB?

Coming to UCFB has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and being able to study at Wembley, one of the world's biggest football stages, is an added bonus.  For the career I want to pursue in the future my degree has helped me out so much, giving me opportunities to develop skills which will help me in the workplace.

Finally, just have fun! Like myself you will meet friends for life, who will support you through your time here. If you are passionate about sport and eventually want a career in a sporting environment, then UCFB is the place to study!