By Rebecca Hawksworth
The BBC’s Match of the Day, Final Score and Football Focus programmes are all just part of the day job for UCFB student Sarah Makki.
The BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism student recently landed herself a job as a production manager’s assistant at BBC Sport after impressing during a three-month work placement. So now, in between studying for her degree, Sarah travels between the offices at Media City and studios around the country.
So far Sarah has had some fantastic opportunities which has seen her work at various FA Cup matches and travel to the likes of Huddersfield Town where she mixed with players and other officials from the football industry during her working day.
Speaking of how her job with the BBC came about, Sarah said: “I landed my job after attending an open diversity event at the BBC in 2016. There I made contacts with people in the talent and resourcing team who then asked me if I wanted to do a few runner shifts the following year.”
Sarah added: “Last year I was asked to work five Saturdays as a runner for Final Score. On the last week, they needed a production manager’s assistant as no others were available so I offered to help out. After that, I got asked to do the odd PMA shift until earlier this year I got a phone call from the head of talent and resourcing who offered me a job working as a PMA.”
Speaking about her highlights so far, Sarah said: “My job at the BBC has involved so many great experiences like being in the production offices where they make programmes like Football Focus, Final Score and Match of the Day.
“My best experience had to be when I went to Wigan vs Manchester City in the FA Cup and my job was to make sure Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Roberto Martinez were looked after before going on air.”
Sarah went on to highlight what she has learnt from her time at the BBC so far and how she believes that it will help her in the future. The UCFB Etihad Campus student added: “I have a much better knowledge of TV production and how programmes are put together, and I’ve definitely picked up skills that will help me with any job I do in the future. The BBC has opened up my eyes to a career in TV production which I never really thought much about.”
