Alex Yoxall

I landed my dream job after I graduated in media, film and television. I started working in a call centre, but it wasn’t for me. I saw the job for Think Ahead, and was there a week or later.

I work for Think Ahead Stroke, a local support network for stroke survivors. We provide advice, information, education, wellbeing and activity programmes. My mum had a stroke when I was 16. Along with my dad and brother, we all chipped in to take care of her. The chance to represent a charity that support survivors, carers and their families really is the perfect role for me.

I’m Activities and Engagement Officer. I organise, facilitate and maintain the wide range of support services, programmes and activities the charity runs to help stroke survivors, carers and their families through social, mental and physical rehabilitation.

I owe so much of my professional development to my degree. Public speaking and writing press releases, are all skills I learnt on my media, film and television course, with modules such as Writing for the Media.

I manage the charity’s social media channels. I write, schedule and build campaigns to reach and support as many people as possible. I also write articles, make video-based content, and engage with supporters.

I started at Edge Hill in 2016 and it was a rollercoaster. Before university I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I loved tv, and slowly narrowed down my options. I learnt so much about myself – independent living, that kind of thing.

I avoided all the public speaking or presentation modules in the first year. Now I do it on a regular basis for my job. In my 2^nd year I worked for the website Love Rugby League, a really amazing experience. I got a 1^st in my dissertation, and a 1^st overall! I’d go back to uni in a heartbeat.

My final year dissertation helped me gain skills I use every day. Every tutor gave me the knowledge and tools to do what I wanted to do, and what I enjoyed: organising focus groups, managing volunteers and collating data to produce reports – all requirements of my current position at Think Ahead Stroke.

I ran the London Marathon, raising nearly £3,000 for Think Ahead. It’s a defining moment in my life, representing the charity on the national stage. The money will go towards developing Think Ahead’s digital media hub, addressing issues faced by stroke survivors who want to use the internet for things like shopping.

I married my childhood sweetheart. We met at high school, but attended different colleges, before reuniting at Edge Hill, where she studied primary teaching at EHU. We were inseparable from the start of uni. She was a workaholic and really gave me a kick to get me moving. She’s a teacher now, and we’ve settled in Ormskirk.