USW Alumni Profiles:
For further inspirational graduate stories, visit us online www.southwales.ac.uk/beinspired
University of South Wales Pontypridd, Wales, UK CF37 1DL E-mail: schoolsandcolleges@southwales.ac.uk Visit: www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
Search: University of South Wales The University of South Wales is a registered charity. Registration No. 1140312
Prepare to be inspired
Marco Marenghi Multi award winning Hollywood animator School attended: Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School, Pontypridd Qualification: HND Animation, 1997
An electronics engineer by trade, and a somewhat ‘rags to riches’ tale, Marco was unemployed when his wife spotted an animation course at the University. "I hadn't really drawn since school," he said. "I literally only went to check it out to get my wife off my back." As a mature student returning to the classroom after many years, Marco capitalised on his passion for drawing and embarked upon an HND in Animation which ultimately turned his life around. “As a mature student, it was kind of weird to be back `in school’. I was surrounded by so many talented individuals and longed to be able to do what came so easily to them. I think it was my tenacity to overcome the obstacles that made me push hard and bring a few of my fellow students along for the ride. I knew what was waiting at the end of the course and wanted to be sure I hit the ground running.” He was right to persevere, as his filmography boasts and impressive list including working for Sony supervising the animation on blockbusters such as ‘I Am Legend’ and ‘Ghost Rider’ along with the Disney’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and DC Comics' ‘Green Lantern’.
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
After graduation he spent four years working for Framestore in London, working on projects including the James Bond movie ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ and the BAFTA and Emmy award winning ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’, which he still regards as his favourite work. Marco was then headhunted by Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks studio in Hollywood to work on movies such as ‘Minority Report’ and ‘Polar Express’. Subsequently employed by Sony Pictures Imageworks as an animation supervisor with budgets exceeding $50m, Marco says he's been delighted to work with talented animators from all over the world, including old University friends from South Wales. Currently based in Los Angeles with his wife and two children, Marco received the Friz Freling lifetime Achievement Award in Animation in 2008. Marco was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Technology by the University in 2009.
“Work hard, don’t complain and be the one person a company would be foolish to let go.”
10
USW Alumni Profiles: Prepare to be inspired
Lesley Owen
Introduction
Founder and Artistic Director, FiFi Stitch School attended: Porth County Community School, Porth Qualification: Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship Practice, 2015
Being brought up in a disadvantaged South Wales community gave Lesley Owen a great amount of passion to make positive change and to encourage more young people to achieve their dreams. It also inspired her to help more women into enterprise and give them confidence to reach their full potential. She now owns a bespoke teddy bear brand and works for the Welsh Government as a Big Ideas Young Ambassador. Lesley tells us in her own words about her achievements over the last two years: "I feel blessed that every day is completely different. I’ve been growing my brand for 19 months, which involves making bespoke teddy bears from scratch, talking to customers and developing my online presence. I’m also writing a children’s book based around the fictional story of Fifi Stitch.”
As for some of Lesley's highlights - she shares a snapshot of her inspirational journey so far: "I have been lucky enough to be shortlisted for awards such as The Future Entrepreneur Awards and Great British Entrepreneur Awards. I was also the only female to be chosen to participate in an EU funded project in Greece/Athens as a young Welsh entrepreneur to inspire entrepreneurial spirit in the city and among other international partners. During this time I delivered workshops on financial strategies to start up business with very little."
“I am the youngest board member for ‘Made in the Valleys’ – Connecting and promoting local artists to develop a more professional sustainable future for themselves.”
Deciding to go to University is an important step for many. Understanding the transformational impact a university education can deliver is all part of the decision making process to ensure taking the leap into HE is the right next step. We’re delighted to share some of our alumni profiles with you. Those profiled come from a range of backgrounds, and many draw on their family circumstances as a catalyst to where they find themselves today. While courses and course titles evolve, the essence of how a higher education journey can transform a future remains a constant. At the University of South Wales we have a global alumni community of over 200,000 and our graduates work across the full spectrum of organisational sectors and professions. Prepare to be inspired. Rachael Barker Head of Alumni Relations and Development www.southwales.ac.uk/beinspired
“As a result of developing my network as an entrepreneur, I have also become a young leader in my community. I am the youngest board member for ‘Made in the Valleys’ – Connecting and promoting local artists to develop a more professional sustainable future for themselves. I also work for the Welsh Government to inspire entrepreneurial spirit among other young people in my local colleges and universities.”
9
University of South Wales
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
2
USW Alumni Profiles: Prepare to be inspired
Adrian Button
Ross Hutchins
Vice President of Turbomachinery, GE Oil & Gas
Owner and Director, Ethos Creative
School attended: Y Pant Comprehensive, Pontyclun Qualification: BEng Mechanical Engineering, 1995
School attended: Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School, Beddau Qualification: BA (Hons) Graphic Communication, 2001
Adrian takes up his story: “Coming from a traditional, hardworking Welsh family, a University education was not an option for me in the traditional sense initially, so at the age of 16 I left school and obtained an apprenticeship with the Royal Mint. During the apprenticeship I combined work with study at technical college, before undertaking an HNC at the University of South Wales, or rather the Polytechnic of Wales as it was back then!” “It wasn’t long before I realised that I wanted to push myself further, ultimately resulting in studying towards a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I made lifelong friends and have lots of happy memories from that period of my life, including those I made while playing University rugby!” Adrian threw himself in to academia and his extra efforts and study paid off securing a sought after position at the Royal Mint as a Quality Technician. However, Adrian passionately wanted to work for British Airways. So when GE bought the British Airways Aviation Centre in Wales, he worked first as a Quality Engineer, before professing through a
3
number of roles that culminated in a career focusing on Materials and Operations. His career took him and his family around the globe with a move to Jacksonville, Florida and subsequently relocating to GE Headquarters in Cincinnati to manage ignition systems. After five successful years in America, Adrian returned home, to become the first Welsh Managing Director of the GE facility in Wales. Hosting visits from the First Minister and Parliament, achieving a Queen’s Award for Export and shouldering the responsibility for managing the livelihoods of over 1500 people. Adrian was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University in 2015 in recognition of his contribution to global technology industries.
“Having originally studied for an HNC, it wasn’t long before I realised that I wanted to push myself further, so I enrolled on a degree in Mechanical Engineering."
University of South Wales
Tell us more about why you chose your course I wanted to learn a creative art that also had commercial opportunity. My qualification has helped me greatly. Although I'm not hands on any more, clients are reassured by the fact I have knowledge in my subject and have a background in creative. University also allowed me to form some lifelong relationships. Tell us about your business venture I started Ethos in 2004. I had been leading the design teams at a number of agencies previously and had learned a lot. I built up a number of contacts through freelance work and this formed the platform for the company to develop from. It was about earning money, whilst remaining as true to our art as we could be. Recent years has seen the creative industries naturally channelled towards digital media, and we have progressed in this way too.
What have been your key business achievements or awards won? We have been lucky enough to be handed quite a few awards over the years, however the standout was being a finalist for the Webby Awards for an Adoption Campaign we produced in 2014. It was nominated as one of the best 5 government funded sites in the world. We lost out to NASA at the Awards at Wall Street in New York, but I’m not ashamed of that! What’s next? Sport has always been a passion of mine and I have recently started working with a number of sports people to support them across brand and image.
“Giving people opportunity to work within the creative industry and providing employment is very rewarding.”
What’s the best and worst thing about running your own business? The best and worst are very much attached. Giving people opportunity to work within the creative industry and providing employment is very rewarding, however it then becomes apparent that you are responsible for them. It’s a bit like having to look after another family!
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
8
USW Alumni Profiles: Prepare to be inspired
Louise Miles-Crust
Libby Dawes
Head of Programming, Wales Millennium Centre
Assistant Producer, BBC Sport
School attended: The Ridgeway School, Swindon Qualification: BA (Hons) Theatre and Drama, 2002
School attended: King Edward VI School, Southampton Qualification: BA (Hons) Performance and Media, 2012
Louise takes up her story: "While at Uni I was able to work behind the scenes on some of the third year student final pieces and even performed in a couple of them. During my final year we created a project to work with local children who are in care or foster accommodation, which was challenging but rewarding.” “The University has strong links with the Welsh media, and while studying I also gained a placement with BBC Radio Wales.”
“It's a dream job for a drama graduate and arts enthusiast. I’ve programmed a variety of shows such as Cirque Eloize, No Fit State Circus and Billy Connolly. I’ve worked on the Centre’s opening weekend as well as our 10th anniversary celebrations in 2014.”
“Studying USW's drama degree in Cardiff was amazing. The link with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama was really helpful and I loved being able to take some modules there.”
“Just after I graduated I was lucky enough to get a job as an Arts Development Officer. The role covered everything from technical, marketing, programming and teaching and gave me an excellent base for the future. I then applied for the Head of Programming role at Wales Millennium Centre. I was successful due to my knowledge of the Wales arts scene from my time at the University of South Wales.”
7
"When working on BBC Sports Personality of the Year] ... Being able to selfshoot and edit impressed my employers and I was given opportunities to produce behind the scenes packages for the BBC Sport website which has over 20 million unique browsers per week. The evening of the show, I was lucky enough to mingle with the stars backstage and at the afterparty. Meeting David Beckham was an obvious highlight!” Libby continues: “I then worked for A Question of Sport as part of the editorial team, setting up and filming mystery guest shoots with sports icons such as Victoria Pendleton, Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Kelly Holmes.”
Concluding, Libby shares some great advice to those coming through from School-level: “Some great advice I was given was it is never too early to start looking for experience and you should never pass up an opportunity to work, even if it’s only for one day. I was also told to not wait for things to happen and to physically get up and go and create opportunities to progress your career. If you do not, someone else will and they will be the ones who end up with your dream job.”
“My first job was the Runner on BBC Sports Personality of the Year a job I truly believe I was successful in getting due to the skills I had acquired while studying for my degree.”
Libby was subsequently given the opportunity to work as a Sport Production Assistant and then Broadcast Assistant for BBC Sport Online, working on programmes such as Match of the Day, Glasgow 2014, Six Nations, Inspire and the World Athletics Championships.
University of South Wales
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
4
USW Alumni Profiles: Prepare to be inspired
Gavin Hodges
Tom Naylor
Global Buyer for Men, Tesco
Director, SilentArena
School attended: Hawthorn High School, Pontypridd Qualification: BA (Hons) Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, 2005
School attended: Morriston Comprehensive School, Swansea Qualification: BSc (Hons) Music Technology, 2005
What attracted you to a purchasing degree? After learning about purchasing during my foundation degree, I decided to specialise. I suppose the thought of a job spending someone else’s money sounded great! What is your favourite memory of the University? My graduation! I loved studying at USW. The teaching staff are so warm and welcoming, and I still fondly remember my favourite lecturers. How do you think your qualification has helped you? I firmly believe that a modern degree sets you up for a particular way of thinking. I graduated and was lucky to secure a position on a graduate scheme and I managed quite a big and difficult team. The varied syllabus of the degree helped me think about things in different ways; how to manage and motivate as well as drive sales and strategy.
“I loved studying at USW. It is a modern university, teaching current ideas, on time-relevant issues.”
5
What is your current job title and who do you work for? I'm the Global Buyer for Men Jersey for Tesco F&F, and work from their offices in London. I buy their tshirts, polo shirts, joggers and hoodies for all of their UK, European and online stores. I also work on what stock we send to our stores outside of the UK and EU to countries like the US and the Middle East. It’s over 1000 stores and still growing! Describe a typical day in your current role? No day’s the same and it can be highly pressured, but I thrive on the speed of it. The day may start early with 1-2-1 catch ups and come 9am I can be in meetings with other buyers and heads of departments discussing issues. The department I manage means I need to be reviewing sales on current stock, planning and booking the coming season as well as planning the season one year ahead. It can be easy to forget what season we are even in! What key achievements have you achieved? Seeing my first range of men’s swimwear going down the catwalk at a press event two years ago was a definite career high. But, the biggest achievement for me would certainly be making buyer before I was 30. It hasn’t been easy - lots of late nights and working all weekend - but it’s been worth it.
Tom explains: “SilentArena is an event and production company that specialises in wireless audio. I started the business in 2007 and after growing to meet demand from some of the UK's biggest festivals and clubs, we expanded into Europe and America. We conceived, designed and manufactured the first glowing headband headphone. We have offices in the UK, France, Italy and America with more planned for 2016.” “We started the business as we spotted a gap in the market. There were silent disco options available, but most were not suited or produced well. We saw the need for late night entertainment (especially at festivals) for thousands of revellers. We sourced equipment and adapted its use to bring silent discos from a previous typical capacity of 500-1000 people to 10,000 plus.”
So what advice does Tom offer the more entrepreneurial student wishing to forge a future business career? “Undertake careful planning before starting a business – have an idea on the market and what you will do to be different. Risks are necessary but can be mitigated by knowledge and an understanding of what customers will want.”
“I chose the course because I had a personal interest in the field, wanted to forge a career in this area and the course also included a large element of practical hands on study which really appealed to me.”
We asked Tom what a typical day might look like: “It’s not all festivals and glamour! We have company meetings most days to recap the previous and talk about events coming up. Responding to emails, organising events and managing our finances keep me busy.”
Do you have any advice to share for someone looking to follow a similar career path? Follow your dream and show your passion!
University of South Wales
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
6
USW Alumni Profiles: Prepare to be inspired
Gavin Hodges
Tom Naylor
Global Buyer for Men, Tesco
Director, SilentArena
School attended: Hawthorn High School, Pontypridd Qualification: BA (Hons) Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, 2005
School attended: Morriston Comprehensive School, Swansea Qualification: BSc (Hons) Music Technology, 2005
What attracted you to a purchasing degree? After learning about purchasing during my foundation degree, I decided to specialise. I suppose the thought of a job spending someone else’s money sounded great! What is your favourite memory of the University? My graduation! I loved studying at USW. The teaching staff are so warm and welcoming, and I still fondly remember my favourite lecturers. How do you think your qualification has helped you? I firmly believe that a modern degree sets you up for a particular way of thinking. I graduated and was lucky to secure a position on a graduate scheme and I managed quite a big and difficult team. The varied syllabus of the degree helped me think about things in different ways; how to manage and motivate as well as drive sales and strategy.
“I loved studying at USW. It is a modern university, teaching current ideas, on time-relevant issues.”
5
What is your current job title and who do you work for? I'm the Global Buyer for Men Jersey for Tesco F&F, and work from their offices in London. I buy their tshirts, polo shirts, joggers and hoodies for all of their UK, European and online stores. I also work on what stock we send to our stores outside of the UK and EU to countries like the US and the Middle East. It’s over 1000 stores and still growing! Describe a typical day in your current role? No day’s the same and it can be highly pressured, but I thrive on the speed of it. The day may start early with 1-2-1 catch ups and come 9am I can be in meetings with other buyers and heads of departments discussing issues. The department I manage means I need to be reviewing sales on current stock, planning and booking the coming season as well as planning the season one year ahead. It can be easy to forget what season we are even in! What key achievements have you achieved? Seeing my first range of men’s swimwear going down the catwalk at a press event two years ago was a definite career high. But, the biggest achievement for me would certainly be making buyer before I was 30. It hasn’t been easy - lots of late nights and working all weekend - but it’s been worth it.
Tom explains: “SilentArena is an event and production company that specialises in wireless audio. I started the business in 2007 and after growing to meet demand from some of the UK's biggest festivals and clubs, we expanded into Europe and America. We conceived, designed and manufactured the first glowing headband headphone. We have offices in the UK, France, Italy and America with more planned for 2016.” “We started the business as we spotted a gap in the market. There were silent disco options available, but most were not suited or produced well. We saw the need for late night entertainment (especially at festivals) for thousands of revellers. We sourced equipment and adapted its use to bring silent discos from a previous typical capacity of 500-1000 people to 10,000 plus.”
So what advice does Tom offer the more entrepreneurial student wishing to forge a future business career? “Undertake careful planning before starting a business – have an idea on the market and what you will do to be different. Risks are necessary but can be mitigated by knowledge and an understanding of what customers will want.”
“I chose the course because I had a personal interest in the field, wanted to forge a career in this area and the course also included a large element of practical hands on study which really appealed to me.”
We asked Tom what a typical day might look like: “It’s not all festivals and glamour! We have company meetings most days to recap the previous and talk about events coming up. Responding to emails, organising events and managing our finances keep me busy.”
Do you have any advice to share for someone looking to follow a similar career path? Follow your dream and show your passion!
University of South Wales
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
6
USW Alumni Profiles: Prepare to be inspired
Louise Miles-Crust
Libby Dawes
Head of Programming, Wales Millennium Centre
Assistant Producer, BBC Sport
School attended: The Ridgeway School, Swindon Qualification: BA (Hons) Theatre and Drama, 2002
School attended: King Edward VI School, Southampton Qualification: BA (Hons) Performance and Media, 2012
Louise takes up her story: "While at Uni I was able to work behind the scenes on some of the third year student final pieces and even performed in a couple of them. During my final year we created a project to work with local children who are in care or foster accommodation, which was challenging but rewarding.” “The University has strong links with the Welsh media, and while studying I also gained a placement with BBC Radio Wales.”
“It's a dream job for a drama graduate and arts enthusiast. I’ve programmed a variety of shows such as Cirque Eloize, No Fit State Circus and Billy Connolly. I’ve worked on the Centre’s opening weekend as well as our 10th anniversary celebrations in 2014.”
“Studying USW's drama degree in Cardiff was amazing. The link with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama was really helpful and I loved being able to take some modules there.”
“Just after I graduated I was lucky enough to get a job as an Arts Development Officer. The role covered everything from technical, marketing, programming and teaching and gave me an excellent base for the future. I then applied for the Head of Programming role at Wales Millennium Centre. I was successful due to my knowledge of the Wales arts scene from my time at the University of South Wales.”
7
"When working on BBC Sports Personality of the Year] ... Being able to selfshoot and edit impressed my employers and I was given opportunities to produce behind the scenes packages for the BBC Sport website which has over 20 million unique browsers per week. The evening of the show, I was lucky enough to mingle with the stars backstage and at the afterparty. Meeting David Beckham was an obvious highlight!” Libby continues: “I then worked for A Question of Sport as part of the editorial team, setting up and filming mystery guest shoots with sports icons such as Victoria Pendleton, Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Kelly Holmes.”
Concluding, Libby shares some great advice to those coming through from School-level: “Some great advice I was given was it is never too early to start looking for experience and you should never pass up an opportunity to work, even if it’s only for one day. I was also told to not wait for things to happen and to physically get up and go and create opportunities to progress your career. If you do not, someone else will and they will be the ones who end up with your dream job.”
“My first job was the Runner on BBC Sports Personality of the Year a job I truly believe I was successful in getting due to the skills I had acquired while studying for my degree.”
Libby was subsequently given the opportunity to work as a Sport Production Assistant and then Broadcast Assistant for BBC Sport Online, working on programmes such as Match of the Day, Glasgow 2014, Six Nations, Inspire and the World Athletics Championships.
University of South Wales
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
4
USW Alumni Profiles: Prepare to be inspired
Adrian Button
Ross Hutchins
Vice President of Turbomachinery, GE Oil & Gas
Owner and Director, Ethos Creative
School attended: Y Pant Comprehensive, Pontyclun Qualification: BEng Mechanical Engineering, 1995
School attended: Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School, Beddau Qualification: BA (Hons) Graphic Communication, 2001
Adrian takes up his story: “Coming from a traditional, hardworking Welsh family, a University education was not an option for me in the traditional sense initially, so at the age of 16 I left school and obtained an apprenticeship with the Royal Mint. During the apprenticeship I combined work with study at technical college, before undertaking an HNC at the University of South Wales, or rather the Polytechnic of Wales as it was back then!” “It wasn’t long before I realised that I wanted to push myself further, ultimately resulting in studying towards a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I made lifelong friends and have lots of happy memories from that period of my life, including those I made while playing University rugby!” Adrian threw himself in to academia and his extra efforts and study paid off securing a sought after position at the Royal Mint as a Quality Technician. However, Adrian passionately wanted to work for British Airways. So when GE bought the British Airways Aviation Centre in Wales, he worked first as a Quality Engineer, before professing through a
3
number of roles that culminated in a career focusing on Materials and Operations. His career took him and his family around the globe with a move to Jacksonville, Florida and subsequently relocating to GE Headquarters in Cincinnati to manage ignition systems. After five successful years in America, Adrian returned home, to become the first Welsh Managing Director of the GE facility in Wales. Hosting visits from the First Minister and Parliament, achieving a Queen’s Award for Export and shouldering the responsibility for managing the livelihoods of over 1500 people. Adrian was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University in 2015 in recognition of his contribution to global technology industries.
“Having originally studied for an HNC, it wasn’t long before I realised that I wanted to push myself further, so I enrolled on a degree in Mechanical Engineering."
University of South Wales
Tell us more about why you chose your course I wanted to learn a creative art that also had commercial opportunity. My qualification has helped me greatly. Although I'm not hands on any more, clients are reassured by the fact I have knowledge in my subject and have a background in creative. University also allowed me to form some lifelong relationships. Tell us about your business venture I started Ethos in 2004. I had been leading the design teams at a number of agencies previously and had learned a lot. I built up a number of contacts through freelance work and this formed the platform for the company to develop from. It was about earning money, whilst remaining as true to our art as we could be. Recent years has seen the creative industries naturally channelled towards digital media, and we have progressed in this way too.
What have been your key business achievements or awards won? We have been lucky enough to be handed quite a few awards over the years, however the standout was being a finalist for the Webby Awards for an Adoption Campaign we produced in 2014. It was nominated as one of the best 5 government funded sites in the world. We lost out to NASA at the Awards at Wall Street in New York, but I’m not ashamed of that! What’s next? Sport has always been a passion of mine and I have recently started working with a number of sports people to support them across brand and image.
“Giving people opportunity to work within the creative industry and providing employment is very rewarding.”
What’s the best and worst thing about running your own business? The best and worst are very much attached. Giving people opportunity to work within the creative industry and providing employment is very rewarding, however it then becomes apparent that you are responsible for them. It’s a bit like having to look after another family!
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
8
USW Alumni Profiles: Prepare to be inspired
Lesley Owen
Introduction
Founder and Artistic Director, FiFi Stitch School attended: Porth County Community School, Porth Qualification: Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship Practice, 2015
Being brought up in a disadvantaged South Wales community gave Lesley Owen a great amount of passion to make positive change and to encourage more young people to achieve their dreams. It also inspired her to help more women into enterprise and give them confidence to reach their full potential. She now owns a bespoke teddy bear brand and works for the Welsh Government as a Big Ideas Young Ambassador. Lesley tells us in her own words about her achievements over the last two years: "I feel blessed that every day is completely different. I’ve been growing my brand for 19 months, which involves making bespoke teddy bears from scratch, talking to customers and developing my online presence. I’m also writing a children’s book based around the fictional story of Fifi Stitch.”
As for some of Lesley's highlights - she shares a snapshot of her inspirational journey so far: "I have been lucky enough to be shortlisted for awards such as The Future Entrepreneur Awards and Great British Entrepreneur Awards. I was also the only female to be chosen to participate in an EU funded project in Greece/Athens as a young Welsh entrepreneur to inspire entrepreneurial spirit in the city and among other international partners. During this time I delivered workshops on financial strategies to start up business with very little."
“I am the youngest board member for ‘Made in the Valleys’ – Connecting and promoting local artists to develop a more professional sustainable future for themselves.”
Deciding to go to University is an important step for many. Understanding the transformational impact a university education can deliver is all part of the decision making process to ensure taking the leap into HE is the right next step. We’re delighted to share some of our alumni profiles with you. Those profiled come from a range of backgrounds, and many draw on their family circumstances as a catalyst to where they find themselves today. While courses and course titles evolve, the essence of how a higher education journey can transform a future remains a constant. At the University of South Wales we have a global alumni community of over 200,000 and our graduates work across the full spectrum of organisational sectors and professions. Prepare to be inspired. Rachael Barker Head of Alumni Relations and Development www.southwales.ac.uk/beinspired
“As a result of developing my network as an entrepreneur, I have also become a young leader in my community. I am the youngest board member for ‘Made in the Valleys’ – Connecting and promoting local artists to develop a more professional sustainable future for themselves. I also work for the Welsh Government to inspire entrepreneurial spirit among other young people in my local colleges and universities.”
9
University of South Wales
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
2
Marco Marenghi Multi award winning Hollywood animator School attended: Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School, Pontypridd Qualification: HND Animation, 1997
An electronics engineer by trade, and a somewhat ‘rags to riches’ tale, Marco was unemployed when his wife spotted an animation course at the University. "I hadn't really drawn since school," he said. "I literally only went to check it out to get my wife off my back." As a mature student returning to the classroom after many years, Marco capitalised on his passion for drawing and embarked upon an HND in Animation which ultimately turned his life around. “As a mature student, it was kind of weird to be back `in school’. I was surrounded by so many talented individuals and longed to be able to do what came so easily to them. I think it was my tenacity to overcome the obstacles that made me push hard and bring a few of my fellow students along for the ride. I knew what was waiting at the end of the course and wanted to be sure I hit the ground running.” He was right to persevere, as his filmography boasts and impressive list including working for Sony supervising the animation on blockbusters such as ‘I Am Legend’ and ‘Ghost Rider’ along with the Disney’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and DC Comics' ‘Green Lantern’.
www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
After graduation he spent four years working for Framestore in London, working on projects including the James Bond movie ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ and the BAFTA and Emmy award winning ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’, which he still regards as his favourite work. Marco was then headhunted by Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks studio in Hollywood to work on movies such as ‘Minority Report’ and ‘Polar Express’. Subsequently employed by Sony Pictures Imageworks as an animation supervisor with budgets exceeding $50m, Marco says he's been delighted to work with talented animators from all over the world, including old University friends from South Wales. Currently based in Los Angeles with his wife and two children, Marco received the Friz Freling lifetime Achievement Award in Animation in 2008. Marco was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Technology by the University in 2009.
“Work hard, don’t complain and be the one person a company would be foolish to let go.”
10
USW Alumni Profiles:
For further inspirational graduate stories, visit us online www.southwales.ac.uk/beinspired
University of South Wales Pontypridd, Wales, UK CF37 1DL E-mail: schoolsandcolleges@southwales.ac.uk Visit: www.southwales.ac.uk/schoolsandcolleges
Search: University of South Wales The University of South Wales is a registered charity. Registration No. 1140312
Prepare to be inspired