Farah Abou Aichi – BA (Hons) Media

After working part-time alongside her studies throughout the global pandemic, a 22-year-old from Inverness is ready for the next steps in her career after graduating from Robert Gordon University (RGU) as a Bachelor of Arts with honours.

Farah Abou Aichi crossed RGU’s graduation stage to accept her BA (Hons) Media degree at P&J Live in Aberdeen on Wednesday 12 July in front of family, friends, and the University community.

“I will always cherish my time from the past four years,” says Farah. “I have made friends for life and grown up so much as a person; I thoroughly enjoyed my time at university.”

After her sixth year at secondary school with Millburn Academy in Inverness, Farah took a year out from her studies to save money while working full time. She then moved to Aberdeen to study for an HNC in Media Analysis Production at North East Scotland College, which granted her direct entry into the second year of her BA (Hons) Media course at RGU.

"I got my place for Media at Robert Gordon University in the summer of 2019,” says Farah. “I have always wanted to study in Aberdeen because it’s close to my hometown, Inverness. I did my research and RGU had such great recommendations for my course: it sounded so interesting to me, and I knew I would enjoy it. The social life of a university student also enticed me!

"Having a degree offers many opportunities and, additionally, I have always had an interest in the media. I wanted to widen my knowledge in the subject to try and create a foundation for a career in the social media, Marketing or PR sector.”

As with all recent graduates, Farah’s studies were surrounded by the influence of a global pandemic but showed great resilience in completing her studies and attaining her degree.

Farah adds: “Studying during a pandemic was unfamiliar—especially having a 12-week placement done completely remotely and online. I did manage. I even ended up getting an A in my placement module, which I am very chuffed with. This shows that university students from the pandemic are highly adaptable.

“My 12-week placement was with Archway Charity and was actually the highlight of my course; I thoroughly enjoyed it. They’re based in Aberdeen and couldn’t open their shop at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I supported them by opening a few e-commerce outlets online through which they could sell their stock. I also created content—social media posts for the charity to use on Facebook and Instagram, which is something I love doing.

“The people I worked with were so welcoming and motivating, which makes me excited for a career in the media industry.”

Farah has been working part-time as a Sales Advisor at New Look for the past three years to support her studies. Now working full-time since completing her course, she is open to new opportunities and is applying for graduate jobs.

"I would eventually like to have a career in social media, marketing, or public relations,” says Farah. “I feel my time at RGU has given me so many skills—from time management to resilience.

“When I left secondary school, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge and experience in the media sector, so coming to RGU and having such great, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic lecturers made me 100% sure this is what I want to do.”