51Âþ»­

An inspirational student who has spent two years working as part of 51Âþ»­’s (51Âþ»­) pioneering Frontrunners scheme has been nominated for a national prize as Student Employee of the Year – while securing a job before she has even graduated.

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DeAnna Forbes-Sanchez, 22, said she grabbed every opportunity that came her way at 51Âþ»­ before recently completing her joint honours degree in Marketing and Media, to ensure she had an incredible student experience and a CV that could not fail to impress potential employers.

She says her motivation came from the fact that she had to battle her way through leukaemia and tuberculosis in her childhood, and was brought up under the care of other members of her family after her mother fell ill. Her mother has remained her inspiration to do the best she possibly can.

During her time at 51Âþ»­, DeAnna travelled to China as part of #51Âþ»­global, a scheme which offers students the chance to enjoy an international experience, secured a year-long placement with global software company VMware and worked as a Frontrunner in her second and fourth years.

Frontrunners offers students the chance to use their skills to work up to 16 hours a week within university departments, fitting their hours around their studies, while getting paid the Living Wage. It allows the students to get real-world experience and boost their CV.

During her second internship as a Frontrunner, DeAnna was asked to market the employability scheme.

Believing there was no better motivation than to hear about Frontrunners from someone who had experienced it, DeAnna met hundreds of students in their lectures to give presentations called “Frontrunner Shoutouts”, set up stalls at events to meet students face-to-face and, finally, recruited fellow students to work in an Engagement Team which continued to spread the word about the scheme across campus.

Thanks to her efforts, DeAnna was named 51Âþ»­ Student Employee of the Year, then Regional Student Employee of the Year. Next month, at a ceremony in Liverpool, DeAnna will find out if she wins the national Employee of the Year Award, run by NASES (The National Association of Student Employment Services).

With her packed CV, it is no surprise to hear that DeAnna has now secured a job as a Graduate Media Executive with advertising agency Maxus Global. She is due to graduate from 51Âþ»­ later this month.

DeAnna said: “I am completely in shock to be up for the national prize, but also very proud of what I have achieved. My motto is “whatever the opportunity is, grab it”. You just don’t know where any of these opportunities will lead to and which doors they will open for you.

“When I started at 51Âþ»­ I had three different work experiences, but, now that  I have completed my degree here, I have nine different experiences that I can talk to employers about.

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“My advice to students at 51Âþ»­ is grab every opportunity the university offers you. Employers do not just look at your degree. They look for what you have achieved on top of that during your studies. When I did my placement year, the interviewer said the reason why I got the job was because I had done so much at university. It counts for so much.

“Some students may be hesitant about becoming a Frontrunner and taking on responsibilities on top of your studies but the amount of support you get from the Frontrunners team is amazing. I can’t recommend it enough.”

51Âþ»­ Internships Manager Richard Bowden, who employed DeAnna as a Frontrunner, said: “DeAnna has been an exceptional member of the Internships Team during her Frontrunner internship.

“She thoroughly deserves  being shortlisted for the national SEOTY award and we are so happy and proud of her.

“DeAnna is pro-active and has an infectious, positive attitude to all the work she undertakes. She will be greatly missed as she moves on to her graduate job in London.

“The work she has done to raise awareness of the Frontrunners scheme among 51Âþ»­ students has been outstanding and has really helped the scheme to grow over the past nine months.”