Higher education advice: 'What I gained from the TTG Scholarship'
Donna Allcock (below), the first graduate of TTG’s scholarship to Leeds Beckett University, talks to Chloe Cann about her experiences on the course and offers advice for those thinking of applying this year.
For Donna Allcock, channel manager at TravelSupermarket.com, getting a degree wasn’t merely about obtaining a piece of paper to validate her skills.
“There was a personal ambition as well,” she says, having recently completed the two-year remote-study degree. “It was something I wanted to fulfil for myself.”
Allcock was the first travel professional to be selected for an all-tuition-fees-paid TTG Scholarship at Leeds Metropolitan University, taking a BSc (Hons) in Travel Business Management.
While she feels pleased to have accomplished so much, the journey has not been without its challenges.
“I thought ‘I have all this experience in travel so it should all be quite straightforward’. But I didn’t have that knowledge of academia. I’m used to writing in business language but to write academically is totally different. I started as an agent at 16, so for me all my experience was vocational.”
Allcock spent 19 years at Thomas Cook in a variety of roles both on the front line and in head office before being made redundant in September 2013, along with 2,500 other staff.
Focused and fast
It was then that Allcock spotted the scholarship opportunity, which she was awarded in January 2014.
At the time she was doing consultancy work for Perfect Weddings Abroad and Perfect Honeymoons Abroad, but a year into the course she took a job at TravelSupermarket.com.
“I wanted to get back into something more focused, more digital and fastpaced,” she says.
And the BSc has proven the perfect complement to her new role.
“At TravelSupermarket.com I look after stock availability and pricing, which requires a lot of analytical and digital skills. The course definitely gives you that breadth across the industry, and one of the pillars of the course is about being more digitally literate, so that’s helped me to be more confident in moving to a digital company as well.”
Balancing a full-time job with a demanding study programme has not been without its difficulties.
“Time spent studying can be anything between 15-20 hours extra a week,” Allcock says. But even that wasn’t enough to develop her 12,000-word dissertation, which took six months to perfect.
“During my dissertation I was spending about 20-25 hours a week writing and researching, which meant I was doing about a 70-hour week.”
Last month TTG announced it would once again offer two promising applicants the opportunity to take up the degree course later this year. For those thinking of applying Allcock offers some advice.
Vital support
“You need a supportive employer,” she says. “My manager has been super supportive, because he sees the commitment to professionalising myself and the level of dedication and focus required as well. It’s a whole extra pressure, so you need to learn to really manage your time, because it can be quite challenging to fit in.
When you’re doing something relevant to your industry it’s a lot easier for your employer to support that – you can keep applying what you learn to your role.”
She says support from family and friends is just as important, as is a personal mission statement. “My advice is to really know why it is you’re doing it, because you’ll need to go back to that when you’re tired and stressed or want to give up because it’s sunny outside.”
Despite the long hours and hard work, Allcock wouldn’t change the experience for anything. “I’d looked at degrees before, but never had the time or money to do it,” she says. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do all my life so I really do appreciate the opportunity. If you’re ready to take on the challenge then you’ll definitely reap the rewards.”
YOUR CHANCE FOR A SCHOLARSHIP
Two new TTG Scholarships to Leeds Beckett University have been launched for 2016. An all-tuition-fees-paid MSc Travel Business Leadership course and a BSc (Hons) Travel Business Management course, each including content on travel business, hospitality and responsible tourism management, are available under the scheme.
You can find full details including how to apply for the scholarship at: ttgmedia.com/scholarship
To view a prospectus of the available courses, go to: courses.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/ tourism-and-hospitality-courses |
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