Read My Story
Mark Mace, 49
First year BA (Hons) Photographic and Digital Media University Campus Suffolk Great Yarmouth
Originally from Leicester I moved to Lowestoft about a year ago. I decided that as I had made such a big move that I would retrain and do this by returning to studying. I have always had a keen interest in photography, and found that the course at UCS Great Yarmouth offered a different approach to photography focusing on the conceptual as well as technical aspects of the discipline. UCS Great Yarmouth was the perfect option for me, local, accessible, friendly and welcoming.
Before moving to East Anglia I had worked in the customer service industry for fifteen years, I even spent time working in Russia. However, I really wanted to build and develop a career I enjoyed, I wanted to spend my time at work having fun and apply my passion for photography to my career. Even after my first year, studying at UCS Great Yarmouth has already made this dream a reality. I have recently been appointed Art Co-ordinator at the James Paget Hospital, a job I would not have been able to secure without the foundations of the course. I now have responsibility for cataloguing all the artwork at the hospital and I also make sure that the artwork is appropriate for its location.
I am really excited to be involved at the beginning of a growing institution. UCS is really listening to students’ opinions; they are asking what we want and getting people involved. I have become a student representative helping to feedback opinions and ideas from the student body to the academic and support teams. I have also been working with the UCS Students’ Union to help establish a viable and successful presence at the Great Yarmouth Centre.
I have also been involved with taking photographs for the UCS 2009 undergraduate prospectus. This is was an excellent opportunity to be art directed and work with a graphic designer at a marketing agency. The photos taken were used in the new prospectus and it has really boosted my portfolio.
I have recently worked closely with other members of my course to set up and promote an exhibition of our work, New Views at the Ferini Gallery in Pakefield. The exhibition, which was held in July, was an excellent opportunity to help raise the profile of our course, our own personal profiles and work, and UCS Great Yarmouth. It was the first public exhibition of my work, and I was instrumental in organising, promoting and exhibiting at it.
It certainly has been a culture shock returning to education but it already has and will open so many doors for me. It is not always an easy option but is well worth the effort.