Brilliant Club (The

important materials, or to be given the freedom to create entire catalogues of my own, and

although there was much I had to learn I have come away from this internship with a greater

understanding of the realities of working in the archival sector. I have gained skills in collection

handling and cataloguing, and learned how to use software such as ArchiveSpace. Across the

past month, I have met some fantastic people who have encouraged me in my ambitions to

enter the field, and have gained a better understanding of the skills and training necessary to

specialise in archival studies.

Lucy Louisa King, Worcester College, MEarthSci Earth Sciences, remote working

Work Projects

I completed an internship with The Brilliant

Club under the supervision of a Programme

Officer for the Brilliant Tutoring Programme,

which enables PhD students to provide

tutorials on core subjects to pupils in schools

from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them catch up and rebuild their confidence after

disruption to their education due to COVID-19. I was drawn to the Brilliant Club because my

time at Oxford increased my awareness of education inequality, and I know that I was very

lucky to be accepted whilst many other students from disadvantaged backgrounds miss out on

such a life-changing opportunity.

During my internship I helped with the creation of school impact reports, made amendments to

course resources, and created resources for new tutors. I also got to learn about the new Join

the Dots programme, which aims to provide support to students from disadvantaged

backgrounds in transitioning from school to university, which interested me because I found the

transition from a non-selective state school to a competitive university very difficult. From the

start I received clear instructions for all tasks, kind and supportive supervision, and was

welcomed warmly by all team members.

Daily Life

My internship was completed entirely remotely because this was easier for me. I was allowed

to work flexible hours, so I often started work at 8:00 or 8:30 and either took a long lunch break

or finished at 4:30 which gave me plenty of time to relax. My supervisor was very helpful; she

scheduled regular catch-up meetings to check in with how I was doing, and there was a lot of

flexibility as to what time and how often I wanted to have these meetings, so I never ended up

feeling overwhelmed with too many meetings in one day.

On any one day, I had two or three tasks I could work on, and I could choose how to organise

my time in regard to these tasks, which was very helpful as when I was feeling a bit tired I could

choose to work on simpler, more repetitive tasks, whereas when I was feeling more energetic I could work on more creative tasks. I took 5/10 minute-breaks regularly to stretch my legs and

give my eyes a break from the screen and taking these regular breaks was encouraged.

Lasting Impressions

Having a variety of tasks and getting to meet lots of different (and friendly!) team members

made my short time at the Brilliant Club very enjoyable. My confidence in a working

environment has definitely improved, and I’ve learned a lot more about education inequality

and ways that we can begin to address it. I felt that my input was highly valued and that I was

viewed as part of the team. I am soon to be starting a job as an Earth Observation foundation

scientist at the Met Office, where the communication and organisational skills I have developed

during my time at the Brilliant Club will undoubtedly serve me well. I also intend to volunteer as

a tutor at the start of the next academic year as I’ve learned a lot about what makes tutoring

effective during my internship and think I’d enjoy helping pupils to reach their full potential.

BA English Language and Literature, Second Year Undergraduate, Remote working

Work Projects