Name: Thomas
Age: 23
Degree: Spanish and French
Year of graduation: 2004
Current Job title: Director The Volunteer Site Limited
Background
I'm from Corbridge, near Newcastle and did A-levels in Spanish, French and English Literature at Hexham High School.
Why Manchester and why languages?
I always enjoyed Spanish and French classes, and knew from quite a young age that I wanted to study languages at university. I chose Manchester because it had a good reputation for Spanish and French and I knew there would be a lot going on. In my four years at University I never regretted it!
Year out
I spent my third year in Madrid, at UAM (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid). I seemed to spend more time out at Erasmus parties than studying at University but that was part of the fun and helped me to meet loads of Spanish people. It made a real difference to my Spanish and was a great experience that I will never forget.
What next?
After University I went to Kenya for 3 months and ended up teaching English to classes of 120 children. That was pretty scary, but a lot of fun. Working as a volunteer in Kenya got me thinking that I'd like to do work with volunteers for a career. So, soon after I returned I started a company that organises overseas volunteer placements. I've been working as a director for The Volunteer Site ever since.
Where are you now?
I'm working full time on The Volunteer Site where we arrange for people to go to Mexico to do community work, teaching, journalism and sea-turtle protection work. It's a fun job and really rewarding. It even means I get to use my Spanish. It's strange to think that if I hadn't studied Spanish at Manchester I never would have got into it. My time at Manchester University has definitely made a real difference to the way my life has worked out.
Do you still use your languages?
I use Spanish all the time for speaking to our suppliers and on my occasional visits to Mexico. It's the most enjoyable part of my job and I can't imagine what my life would be like if I didn't speak Spanish.