Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

My main responsibilities include supporting on regeneration projects and working with internal and external consultants such as architects, planners, landscape designers and cost consultants to ensure that housing schemes are designed and delivered on time and to a high quality. I also engage with local stakeholders and communities to ensure that their views are heard and what is delivered by the Council results in long term benefits to the whole local area.

There is not really a typical day as a project manager, which is the most exciting aspect of the role. Activities can range from attending design review meetings with architects, preparing reports to get projects signed off, organising resident meetings and activities for improving engagement with local communities, meeting with local councillors and supporting work streams such as financial reporting and coordinating external consultants.

I really enjoy learning from and engaging with different communities and the challenge of thinking outside of the box to solve lots of problems which is a huge part of managing and coordinating projects. It also appealing to be able to collaborate with others and tap into people's different expertise and to work in a team towards a final goal which is delivering high quality housing that will hopefully make a positive impact to people’s lives especially those on low incomes.

The challenging aspects of the job is convincing stakeholders that the projects we are delivering will have an overall positive impact to the area – there is usually some sort of compromise. When it comes to delivering affordable housing projects, due to the lack of funding Councils are now having to deliver more private housing to fund affordable housing. This means that some estates are being demolished to make way for new housing and can result in some communities being displaced, however the Council works hard to ensure that these communities can be retained when the project's complete. Overall this has changed the narrative of council housebuilding which previously is solely focused on social housing. The main challenge is that projects can take a long time to start and finish so there is a lot of work to keep momentum going which means you also must be adaptable to change, be well organised and a good multitasker.

I am passionate about the built environment and how design can be used as a tool for social change. Therefore, working in the public sector appealed to me, particularly in delivering housing, as I wanted to contribute my skills to help deliver positive outcomes and play a part in helping solve the housing crisis alongside working closely with communities to deliver initiatives that can contribute to people's wellbeing.

Studying architecture has helped me a lot with the technical aspects of my current role, although I am primarily involved in project management, my knowledge of architecture and urban design means I can speak the same language as design consultants I work with and this has helped in developing project designs to be as best as they can. I have also been able to apply the skills I learnt at university in juggling demanding projects and deadlines. Additionally, my Masters in urban planning has helped deepen my understanding of the role of local governments and the link between policy and practice.

I graduated from my first degree in Architecture in July 2012 and during this time there was a second wave of the global financial crash so it was particularly hard to get a job in architecture sector at that point especially in the North. I spent a few months volunteering on architecture charity projects and then decided to take 6 months out. I found a role in January 2013 working in customer engagement and worked in this role until July 2014. Shortly after this, I secured a graduate scheme working at a housing association as a project manager working on delivering affordable housing projects in Greater London; I worked in this role for just over 2 years. In September 2016, I decided to go back to university to study a Masters. Once again, I chose Sheffield because of its great reputation.

At Sheffield, I studied and MA in Cities and Global Development which focused on urban planning from an international perspective. During my Master’s year in Sheffield I had fantastic professional development opportunities such as going on a field project in India, completing a placement at an urban design practice and undertaking a research project in Europe as part of a prize and consultancy work. I graduated from Sheffield in September 2017 and took some time out to travel for 6 months. I secured a job in April 2018 working for a small planning consultancy as an urban designer working on masterplanning projects in the South West region.

In July 2019, I moved jobs to work for a council as a regeneration project officer which is my current role. During this month, I also won the Deutsche Bank award for Creative Social Entrepreneurs (DBACE) to kickstart my social enterprise Activate The City! which I founded in early 2019. Activate The City! is a youth-led organisation that works to develop vacant and underused spaces with young people to create social change. So far, working in the public sector and on my own business has been a really challenging but a rewarding experience.

In terms of where I see myself in the future, this is developing Activate The City! further and seeing it grow so I can have a wider reach and make a positive impact in different communities and cities as currently projects are more at a grassroots level. Working for myself and being a social entrepreneur is a vision that I had when first went to university over 10 years ago. The aspiration is for Activate The City! to become a platform for creative innovation and youth empowerment by developing unique initiatives that inspire young people and give them creative and entrepreneurial confidence so that they have the tools and resources to change their communities for the better and at the same time achieve their full career potential. I would also like to continue learning and pass on knowledge through teaching and mentoring so a PhD will likely be on the cards in the near future.

Studying Architecture or a built environment subject equips you with so many transferable skills that can be applied different creative and built environment jobs. Most of all, both of my degrees were valuable because they offered a great stepping stone into creative careers focused on the built environment or creating positive social change.

Going to Sheffield has been the best decision I ever made, not just because of the city, but the people and staff at the university. I thrived at Sheffield because I was challenged and supported throughout my time at university and was exposed to so many unique opportunities that have made a great impact to my wide-ranging career trajectory and personal development.