Where Are They Now: Kiara Valentin-Wilkinson – Media Operator at Sky News

UCFB graduate Kiara has been telling us how her degree has helped her succeed as a media operator at Sky.

Although not one of UCFB’s sports media-related degree graduates, Kiara has spoken about how her degree in BA (Hons) Sports Business and Sports Law has helped in her broadcasting career.

“My current role entails gathering live footage from lots of cameramen and streams to save onto the server for future use on the news,” she said.

Speaking about working the global broadcaster Sky, Kiara said: “The company itself is a really good company to work for. It’s very inclusive. There’s so many opportunities in so many different departments. You can shadow so many roles.”

Kiara then went on to talk about how her degree in BA (Hons) Sports Business and Sports Law helped her in her broadcasting career.

“My degree brought me a lot of qualities I actually use in my broadcasting job,” she said.

“Being business-orientated, it taught me a lot of business structure which is obviously really important when you go into a really big company like Sky.

“I also needed a lot of time management while I was on my degree, so the UCFB dual degrees have quite a lot of workload sometimes. I found that benefited coming into a live footage situation, because you have a lot to work with in a small amount of time.

“My degree also helped me with my people skills. There were a lot of group projects which is really beneficial, especially when you go into a team which is quite small. You get to know everyone really quickly. Those group projects really help turn those people skills into a job.”

She finished: “My time at UCFB was very jam-packed. I was involved in the Student Union, I took the opportunity to go on a global summit to New York.

“I’ve always been afraid of putting myself in one box. And with the unique degrees, it’s easy to be like, ‘This is what I’m going to do.’ But I think you become a much better employee if you try everything, get involved in all the ECP events and take as many opportunities as you can.

“Keep open minded. All the trips of internships UCFB provide, just grasp everything and be open to whichever path it takes you down.”

You can view a UCFB prospectus by learning all about how a degree course at UCFB can help you score your dream career in the sports industry.