Degree: BA Liberal Arts (Major in Business)

The reasons I applied for the role was a combination of things. Having spoken to accountants and ICAEW employees, I realised the importance ICAEW places on member progression and a culture of intellectual superiority. Meanwhile, having completed 7 months in Audit at Deloitte, I sat the mock ACA exams (Accounting and Assurance) and studied for these at Kaplan college for over two months. The studying and practical work at Deloitte gave me a real appreciation for ICAEW and the support it gives to aspiring and current accountants.

I also realised how wide reaching the services of ICAEW were, with 150,000 of 1.7 million accountants in world being ICAEW qualified, and 78/100 FTSE 100 companies having an ICAEW chartered accountant on board.

What is activity and work you been involved in as an ICAEW Campus Ambassador?

These have been really varied which I have liked. Only a few weeks ago I was leading a school at the Warwick University Economics forum, all by myself. This was amazing for my leadership skills, because I was able to really speak to students one on one, tell them all about accounting, my journey, and indeed promote ICAEW programmes.

Additionally, I have been involved in the main careers fair at the start of the year, and a workshop to aid international students with an accounting-based case study. I also ran a careers stall this year. Finally, I have promoted the programmes on social media and in the University.

What you learnt being an campus ambassador?

I have learnt about the importance of gaining social media engagement with young individuals and developing my own leadership skills to engage with students.

Furthermore, I learnt how to assimilate information and think on my feel, as people would often ask questions which I did know how to answer, but I knew they were in the booklets in front of me somewhere. Here, I could quickly check the booklets and answer people in front of me.

If I had any questions which I could not answer, I could always ask a member of the ICAEW team for help.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced within the role?

The biggest challenge has been knowing that I cannot answer every question students may ask, or more appropriately that I am not an expert. But you must realise that this is okay, and that is part of the reason ICAEW hired you, because you know enough, but of course you are not an expert.

Whilst I became more comfortable with this over time, I could answer a potential question with ‘I am not too sure about that but give me a moment’. A part of this role is the ability to stand back, think and then answer. You do not have to know it all.

Firstly, apply, do not be shy. Then I would say you do not know how many adventures and opportunities can come out of this role.

I personally met some students who were at the University of Warwick Economics summit, and they were from Austria. I spoke to them, told them about ICAEW, the qualification, and made a few jokes. Subsequently, they were all adding me on social media and invited me to a ball later that evening. I was able to both promote the programme, but also make new friends from a different country.

Being a brand ambassador is one of those unique things you will only ever do at school or University, and so I really recommend it. Once you are working, this kind of flexibility and new experience will not be available in the same way, so I recommend that you try it.