Stephanie Adebule

Marketing - BA (Hons)

Stephanie took the plunge and left her small hometown in Ireland to pursue her dreams of working in marketing. Fast forward and she has just started a year-long marketing placement that takes her one step closer to her goal.

“From a very young age, whenever I was asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I could never give a clear answer. It went from being a pop singer, to an actress then at some point even a writer. One thing that tied all these together was my creativity.

When I was fifteen, I decided to launch an online skincare business accompanied with a YouTube channel. Lockdown had begun by this stage, and my creative mind meant that I always had to be doing something. So, I watched a few YouTube videos and bought some products to sell, eventually I began to gain some traction and became a hit in my local community. Upon reflection I realised my favourite part of it all was creating content and marketing my products and brand, so I decided to explore marketing in my spare time.

I eventually began thinking about university. At the time, the options I had in Ireland for marketing were not what I wanted, so I had to expand my search. I knew the only way I would consider moving to the UK was if I could study marketing, so I applied to a few universities here. A part of me always wanted to go to the UK for university like my older sister, but I was afraid. What finally pushed me to go ahead was the great opportunities that came with moving to the UK, especially in a big city like Birmingham. I loved the  diverse culture, the different career opportunities, and just the bigger environment. After visiting BCU and seeing the facilities, I was won over.

After a few months of studying at BCU, I felt at home in Birmingham. I really enjoyed my education, and every day became a pleasure for me. Even though I studied marketing in my own time through my business prior, this time I was learning everything at such depth, and the lecturers were great at breaking down tough topics in a way I could understand. I started making friends in my modules and developing relationships with people from various societies and at my new local church, which really helped me feel at home here when I discovered my people.

One of my most difficult challenges was becoming more independent. University is an experience unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before, but for students like me, who moved countries on their own, it was an even greater challenge. I would encourage you to get stuck in and find your own community; university is a big place, but you can find your people if you look close enough. I can now confidently say that I am more independent, which is something I’ve always struggled with. Now I cannot imagine living anywhere other than Birmingham, even though I am miles away from my family. 

After finishing my second year, I decided to do a placement year. I was given the opportunity to work as a Content Assistant at the University . This is a paid position, and it has been a terrific experience so far. My role involves everything I adore - photography, blogging, filming, and so on. The department I work in has the best staff ever!   Everyone has been very warm and kind; I have learned so much from this experience so far and am looking forward to more.

I AM BCU means home to me. No matter where you’re from, you have a home away from home.”