Recently I interviewed Sarah Huggett, a past YSJ graduate who studied Drama, education and community. She has gone on to work on many community projects and done lots of fascinating work since graduating. You can read more about the amazing work she does below.
What did you study at York St John? And what skills did you gain during your degree?
I studied drama, education and community. I graduated in 2020 during COVID. But obviously, having to stop your degree was quite a challenge. So when COVID first appeared it was March, CPP was all we had left to complete as well as the portfolio module. This meant it became all about finding different ways to become adaptable and flexible last minute and to try and manage things that are unexpected. Obviously, the whole world was in an unexpected and scary time. But anyway, as expected on a theatre course I learned a lot about theatre making. I also learned about ethnographic research and how to use that, which was something I had never learned before. I also did the prison partnership project which was the main reason I came to the university. Doing that has definitely led to the work I do now. As part of doing that project I learned about trauma informed practice and what that is and how to facilitate and co-facilitate, this also came up on the children and young people module. Within learning to facilitate, I learned that it’s ok when things go wrong. Things might go wrong, but it’s more important to look at how you can manage it. A few other skills are things like public speaking, but also leading with kindness. Leading with kindness was especially important with the prison partnership program where it’s really important that you are caring and compassionate. Within facilitation, I learned that it is okay when things go wrong, and it’s important to look at how you can learn from that. Something else I learned that’s really important is leading with kindness. I think we all like to think that we’re kind people but we’re probably not as kind as we think we are, so being aware of that is really helpful.
What was the most unexpected skill you gained on your degree?
I would have to say learning about professional and personal boundaries. Like, if you were in class and you wanted to tap someone on the shoulder you would always ask and make sure their boundaries were respected. So things like that and actively seeking consent in a professional setting. I think, in the working world, I don’t see things like that as much as I’d like. Especially as I work with vulnerable adults, maintaining a focus on consent and boundaries is really important. The skills I have learned from the course, in facilitation and with boundaries are things I have taken all the way with me into my professional work.
What was the biggest challenge you faced as a graduate entering the working world?
When I graduated It was in the midst of COVID so finding a job was quite challenging, let alone in the creative industry. But I think it’s really important to not put too much pressure on yourself to find a job that you love instantly. But I think there’s an element of needing to be open to the unexpected, because jobs could come around that you don’t think are perfect instantly but could grow into what you want to do. So with the job I’m in now, I absolutely love it and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else, but It wasn’t necessarily what I imagined myself doing when I first started the degree. A lot of people probably go into this degree thinking they’re going to go on to do XYZ, but when they finish they find that they want to do ABC instead. Things are always changing and I think that’s something you need to be open to, especially because a lot of the skills learned on this course are absolutely transferable.
What job do you do currently?
Currently I work for Changing Lives in the women’s homelessness hostel in York. We help and support vulnerable people into their own accommodation. We do this through a resettlement program. The people we work with have multiple complex unmet needs and all have a range of different needs. For example, addiction, domestic violence victims, involvement in the criminal justice system, homelessness, poor mental health. So they are currently in supported accommodation as were trying to get them into independent living. As a part of that there is the On The Out project which is run in partnership between Changing Lives and the institute for social justice here at York St John, which I help co-facilitate with Jess, Jules, Rachel, and Gracie from York St John. So that group is for creative women’s recovery and it is run every week to support vulnerable women in the city and those who are in recovery. We do some gentle art practice, create trusting relationships with each other, build confidence, and engage in creative practice in the community. Outside of Changing Lives I do some work for York Anti Racist Collective. York Anti Racist Collective has two main pillars. We have a mums of colour group, and art liberation workshops. We primarily host workshops for people of colour and we focus on creating space for people of colour. We look at decolonizing art practice too. Last year we hosted art liberation week which was a week-long festival which had several different workshops. I ran a spoken word workshop and I was also a life drawing model which was exciting. All of these workshops were for people of colour to create a safe space , and after the workshops we had an open space for anybody to come to so they could view the work and learn a bit about the collective and what we do. We also did some workshops at York St John university for the counselling and mental health students, looking at decolonizing art and looking at what an ideal world would look like.
If you could go back and do the degree again, what would you do differently?
I would definitely take more of the opportunities that are available because I definitely didn’t. Even though it sounds harsh, in the industry often it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, and making those connections is really important. The industry can be really challenging so it’s really important to take opportunities and build connections. Something else I regret is not reading. I know it sounds silly, but no one really wants to do the reading, I know I didn’t want to. But now having left university I’m reading lots around the work that I do now and it’s incredibly interesting. So it’s really important to find readings that really interest you.
In which ways has your degree come in handy for your current career?
I currently do a lot of work with vulnerable people which requires a lot of trauma informed work which I learned a lot about during the prison partnership project. Also, leading with kindness which I mentioned before. Whether you’re working with someone whose vulnerable or who may be deemed less vulnerable. It’s just good to be a kind person. And also as I said earlier, learning professional boundaries has been really helpful. Also, just ensuring that I am compassionate and always using empathy is really helpful.
If you could give current students or recent graduates one piece of advice, what would it be?
My one piece of advice would probably be that when you’re looking for a job after finishing university to make sure you’re not putting extreme amounts of pressure on yourself to go straight into the industry. Because, ultimately, you need a roof over your head. And, that’s not to mean don’t do something you love. For example, when I first started my job I never expected to love it as much as I do, and I never expected the creative opportunities that came alongside it, but going into it I never knew they existed. And if you go into a job you don’t like, you can always apply for another one.