Amy

When Amy arrived at Goldsmiths, she didn’t have a grand plan for life.

“I knew I wanted to do a creative degree… I didn’t do a foundation – I just wanted to move out and go to a big city!”

Amy came to London from near Wigan to join the Department of Design because its undergraduate degree offered the chance to try out a range of media and disciplines. She realised during her second year that she had a passion and talent for telling people’s stories. And after making the documentary ‘If I Get Like That Just Shoot Me’ (nominated for the 2020 Oxford International Short Film Festival) about caregiving and her own family, she hoped she could pursue a filmmaking degree at postgraduate level.

“At first I wasn’t sure whether doing a Masters was financially feasible. But I applied and I got a partial fee waiver, and that made the year financially viable for me… and it made me a bit more respectful and aware that there are procedures in place at unis to help you get in and help you further.”

Goldsmiths’ MA Filmmaking (Screen Documentary) gave Amy the right environment to find her own voice. She says the fact that the course included students from a huge variety of backgrounds, and the way sharing and critiquing of work was built into it, gave her valuable insights. But the most important contribution for Amy was from the staff. “I always felt that at Goldsmiths someone was there to listen, and that I could ask them for advice and for help with anything.”

This inspired Amy to work in creative arts education herself. “The tutors, the administrative staff, the technical tutors –they all helped me so much, and I really thrived in that environment,” she says. Amy’s dreams of being in a classroom where she can help young people are now coming true – she has completed her PGCE and is now a secondary school design and technology teacher at a school in Wigan.