Jamie Kennedy
BA Business and Management 2007
Jamie Kennedy is helping Postgraduate students to make the right decision when choosing their next course.
He is currently a senior account manager at Target Postgrad, an organisation which works alongside several Universities to better inform graduates about the next steps of their University career.
Originally from Oxford, he initially found work at the Oxford Mail newspaper, where he helped to manage newspaper sales, putting into practice much of what he learned while studying Business and Management at our University.
Though his roots lie firmly in Oxfordshire, Jamie has relatives in Sunderland and is a huge fan of the football. This, combined with the array of opportunities available on the course, made choosing the University an easy decision.
“I have strong ties to the North East. My mum is originally from Sunderland so the whole of my family are big Sunderland football fans,” he explained. “I also heard a lot of positive things about the Business School so it was an easy decision to make.”
Once here, he soon realised he had made the right decision. Despite coming from another part of the country, he was given the typical North East warm welcome and quickly found himself at home. Even after moving away from the area, he continues to keep in touch with the friends he made in the City.
Reminiscing about his time here, he hailed the University as “truly great” and added: “It’s got a fantastic campus, a bouncing nightlife and the people in the North East are some of the friendliest you will find in the country.
“I still keep in touch with a handful of friends who I ended up living with here. I’m going off to Santorini in the coming months to see one of them get married.”
A talented footballer, Jamie was a member of the University’s first team, with one of his proudest moments at Sunderland taking place on the pitch.
“I am a big Sunderland fan,” he added. “So being lucky enough to score the winning goal for us against Newcastle University’s first team was something that I still remember to this day.”
After graduating, finding and carving out a career can often be a tricky path, whatever the profession, so Jamie recommends that students should look to work in a field that they have a genuine passion for, as that passion is what will keep them going through the more challenging aspects of their professional life.
He continued: “Look for a career that you enjoy rather than what it pays. That’s so important.
“To any new students whose interests are similar to mine, I’d recommend Business and Management. The facilities at the University are excellent and the lecturers are really approachable.”
Now settled back home, Jamie is looking to continue the upward trajectory in his career, but insists he will not forget about the University that started it all.
Article written by Matthew Shevlin, University of Sunderland Journalism graduate.