College Boy Done Good

I was asked to answer some questions for a column in the Times. Here they are, unedited and raw. I submitted them today. I suppose it demonstrates that you can go to a little known college in the far west of england and still make something (which I know may be subjective) of your life. Well done to Cornwall College for finding me and asking me to do this. That was impressive.

1) Which year/years were you Cornwall College?

I was there from 16 to 18, so I supposed that would be 1990 to 1992. I have just realised that is exactly half my life ago. And that makes me realise how much I’ve changed in that time.

2) What did you study.

I studied for a BTEC National Diploma in Media Studies. It was the very first year of the course. One of our first projects was all helping to build the broadcast studios as their constructions was running late.

3) What qualifications,if any, were achieved.

I received a Distinction in Media Studies after 2 long hard years which were the most exciting and creative of my life. Coupled with Cornwall College having a renowned catering college – meant I could eat and study media – my two favourite things.

4) Who are the teachers you recall and how good
were they. Did you have a favourite.What are your
memories of
them.

Tim Beattie springs to mind, a character fresh from Dead Poet’s Society. Passionate, driven and suffering from a hyperactive mind and an unshakeable belief that the rag bag of students who hauled their corpses into campus each morning could be the Jeremy Paxman’s and Bob Woodward’s of the future as opposed to ending up stuffing pasties at Ginsters. We had a journalism lecturer called Gareth Jones (I think) who was very Welsh – but excellent, and demonstrated every day his passion good English and great journalism. This gave me a great foundation for the world of Public Relations – and the ability to make a story stand up, as opposed to the wholesale murderous activity undertaken by many of today’s PR’s which is to sell empty legless stories.

5) What was the college like in appearance and design
and have you ever been back.What were the facilities
like.

Cornwall College is trapped between the two glorious town’s of Redruth and Camborne. The stunning modernistic towns have a full population of happy employed people going about their business without a care in the world. If only that was true. That part of Cornwall is underfunded, under supported by government and under a cloud. When I was there the area was suffering terribly from unemployment and homelessness. So much so that one of my major projects was making a documentary for a homeless charity in Truro called St.Petrocs – it was a far cry from the reportage today of raves at Rock and the coastal property boom. The campus was tired, but functional. The cheese and potato pies were simple yet delicious (and a snip at only 45 pence) and our media centre was brand spanking new. We were the envy of all (especially the catering block).

6) Did the studies at College help at all for your
professional career and life and if so, how.

Of course they did. The energy which the college put into its course was met only by the blind enthusiasm of us students, who really believed we were going to ‘make it’. No doubt there will be a fly on the wall documentary about media students very soon (it’s probably already on youtube). It helped me get my first job in light entertainment at the BBC (my colleagues were going for the Western Morning News – I was shooting for Wogan), and it helped me understand so much about communication. It also beat out of me my passion to be a TV presenter. There was a broadcast studio and I dread the day my feeble Chris Evan-esqye tapes surface.

7) Did the college experience change you and if so
how.Tell me a bit more about your career after
college.

After Cornwall College I ended up at the BBC in London. And from there I’ve ended up in New York. I remember the college fondly. I was having to live in digs from 16 – which was new – and taught me much about social skills, it gave me real independence and it gave me a chance to be me. Educationally the course tried the best it could to deliver a real media experience and I’m grateful to Tim for his passion and the college for investing in a career path which, at the time, was probably quite a gamble for this part of the world. Finally my time with Cornwall College inspired my mother who returned to education after putting up with her children. She now lectures for Cornwall College, and has helped change the lives of many mature students who wanted the education they couldn’t have or afford when they were younger. Of that I’m most proud, thanks Mom.