A student from Warrington who worked for a homeless charity while studying has graduated with first-class honours degree.
Abbigail Malkin from Great Sankey, has left the University of Salford Business School with a degree in Digital Business and is now targeting a career in digital marketing.
As part of her final year project, Abbigail did a four-week social media placement at Emmaus Salford, a charity dedicated to helping those who have experienced homelessness.
The placement was recommended by her lecturer, Dr Alex Fenton, and she did so well with bringing up the Instagram engagement that she stayed on for a little longer.
She said: “I realised that the work the charity does is something I would love to get behind.”
With the pandemic still ongoing, Abbigail was unable to go to the charity shop in person, however, she was able to visit Lucie’s Pantry, a foodbank for the community, and was extremely grateful for the chance.
“It was so good to see and everyone was so lovely,” she said. “It really reminded me why I did this placement.”
The 21-year-old appreciates her experience at Emmaus and is glad that it paid off through her First-Class Honours.
“This is all down to the support I got from my lecturers,” she shared. “If you went up to them after a lecture, they’d be more than happy to help.
“And not everyone gets that at other universities, especially during the pandemic. They’ve been really supportive, and I couldn’t share that enough.”
Abbigail’s experience at Salford was the perfect one for her, and she does not regret completing her degree there.
“When I was looking for a university, it was the modules at Salford that drew me in,” she explained.
“They offered social media marketing, which was perfect for me, but also website building which I knew I would need.
“But it wasn’t just that. I keep saying to everyone how happy I am that I chose Salford and didn’t go anywhere else.”
Following her results, Abbigail is now in the midst of searching for a full-time job in social media marketing, as her experience at Emmaus helped her realise that this is what she wants to do.
She said: “I’ve got a few interviews lined up and it’s just nice to see what jobs are out there at the moment. But I’m not worried as I know I have the right skills under my belt to get to where I want.
“And that’s down to the degree and my lecturers who would always drop everything to help me if I needed it.”
