Holly's story
What role do you currently do at Arden?
I have recently been promoted into a Senior Lecturer position within the Psychology school. My role involves a range of responsibilities including teaching on our distance-learning Psychology programmes and line managing colleagues. Within the Psychology school, each of the Senior Lecturers also has a specific focus area. Personally, I co-lead the focus on Student Employability and Professional Development within our school alongside fellow Senior Lecturer, Ella Hatton. Within this space, we focus on widening access to professional development for our students, supporting the provision of both within-curriculum and extra-curricula activities that increase our students’ employability.
What role did you originally start out in?
I originally joined Arden in April of 2019 in a Psychology Experimental Officer role, fresh out of my MSc in Applied Psychology. In this role, I provided research-based assistance to students across all Psychology programs. Soon after, in January of 2020, I was promoted into a lecturing position within the school where I began teaching on our distance-learning Psychology programs. Alongside my teaching, I engaged in many other activities and projects including the creation of the first internal work experience opportunity for students; the Volunteer Learning Assistant (VLA) scheme, and lead the Volunteer Research Assistant (VRA) scheme. During this time, I also began my PhD (funded by Arden) with Birmingham City University – I complete this part-time alongside working full-time which is a challenge, but I feel incredibly lucky that Arden have been able to support me with pursuing this!
When did you progress into your current role and what is your favourite part of the job you do now?
This role is very new to me, having only started on the 26th of February! In my prior lecturing role, I was also a Deputy Employability and Professional Development lead where I had oversight of the upskilling opportunities provided to our students, and focused on increasing accessibility to these. My Senior Lecturer role will expand upon this work, taking a more strategic approach to ensuring the work we do in this area aligns with our school strategy. Throughout the last five years of working at Arden, I have loved seeing students develop in terms of their knowledge, skills and, perhaps most importantly, their confidence and self-belief. I am super excited to continue work in this area, with the overall aim of ensuring our students are able to access such opportunities and reach their developmental potential.
How has Arden University supported your career development and growth, and what resources or opportunities did you find particularly beneficial along the way?
When I started at Arden, I really had no idea that I would end up in a Senior Lecturing role so early on in my career! I am sure that I would not have been so lucky elsewhere – the senior management within our school and my colleagues have believed in my abilities from the very start (even when I didn’t), and I have been supported every step of the way in taking on new challenges. Arden, in this way, is different to other academic institutions – within our school, our senior team focus on the developmental potential of the individuals in our team and are not afraid to take a chance on someone like myself who, 5 years ago, was brand new to academia and lacking confidence! Within the Psychology school, we are provided with a lot of flexibility and creativity in our role which allows me to try new things and find ways to work that work for me personally. More specifically, Arden funds my PhD studies which is extremely valuable to me in developing my academic profile and knowledge within my specialism of Child Development and Educational Psychology. I am also provided with additional training opportunities for specific skill-development. For example, I will be undertaking management training in light of my new role involving the line management of other colleagues.
What would you say to Arden colleagues who are looking to advance their careers within Arden?
Don’t be afraid to make your goals known! I have always found my goals to be welcomed and supported, and doors opened to me through voicing these. There is so much going on at Arden that it can be a little overwhelming at times, so it can also be useful to seek advice from others on the opportunities they have accessed to get some direction. You can also use your own initiative and creativity here and this is a great way of developing your skills and demonstrating your desire to progress.
Lastly, what would you say to someone considering Arden as their next career move?
I absolutely love working at Arden University – at the heart of it, I love supporting our students. If you’re passionate about supporting students, particularly those who perhaps wouldn’t be able to access “traditional” higher education, Arden might be the place for you. Although the love for teaching and support students is my main motive for working here, I can’t ignore the vast array of opportunities I’ve been afforded through working here too, so if you’re ready for a new challenge, I’d definitely recommend considering working for us. One element that I particularly love is the flexibility and creativity I am allowed in my role – Arden is very fast-paced and this can be challenging, but being allowed to be creative and find the ways in which I work best really helps!