Eliza Light

Before uni I hadn’t spent much time living away from home; so moving all the way from London to Scotland was massively out of my comfort zone. But that actually became one of the main motivators for me choosing Edinburgh, as it meant fully committing to the university experience, knowing that I couldn’t travel home very often.

Veganism influenced my academic choices

I studied Theology and Philosophy as a joint honours due to their complementary nature; in particular, the ethical intersections. I ultimately found myself choosing predominantly ethics-based modules on topics like animal welfare, climate and ecology, and feminism.

Also, my decision to turn vegan in my second year of uni definitely had a big impact on my module selection. Looking back, my favourite essays were probably the ones on veganism, as these allowed me to interrogate, examine, and therefore strengthen my belief in something which already meant a lot to me.

One of the best things about New College was the staff

The professors at New College were a huge highlight. In particular Alison Jack and Rachel Muers because they taught a lot of those ethics-based modules that I found most interesting. And throughout my time at New College, they both became very good mentors;

It was important to me to have people in the building that I knew I could go to with any sort of question. 

In fact, I loved Alison’s Bible in Literature course that I took in first year so much that it ended up massively informing my dissertation topic - titled, ‘’That’s my girl’: The Bible and the Incarcerated Female Body in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], with a case study on Alias Grace [1996]’.

My advice - find the things you love about Edinburgh and enjoy them!

I’m so glad university in Scotland is four years, as opposed to three, but it really does fly by. So make the most of your time by finding the things that you love about Edinburgh - it’s such a beautiful city so, try and do as much as you can outside of your studies. For instance, I love the Fringe, so every year I made sure to go to the Fringe during the summers instead of going back home straight away.

Being your own little boss

The tools I learnt whilst at uni to manage stress have been really useful in my life after graduation. Specifically, I found that having a solid routine can help alleviate stress - and this is especially important whilst at uni because you have to hold yourself accountable; in a way, you learn to be your own little boss.

One daily ritual I stuck to was getting a coffee outside of my flat every morning. Leaving the flat each morning quite early helped my productivity and mood because then I could make a separation between my university work and my room.

In terms of how my academic work has directly impacted my professional work, I have noticed how my degree has improved my organisational and time management skills - meeting deadlines - and also communicating effectively and with different people. 

Learn to trust your instincts

I know now that I wish I had known as a student is to trust your instincts and you'll get to where you want to be. Leaving university is definitely overwhelming because you’ve built this life and routine in one place, and you’ve hopefully met the goals you’ve set for yourself up until that point. And whilst it's exciting, you’re suddenly confronted with so many decisions which feel like they’ll determine the rest of your life.

I knew what industry I wanted to work in, but not what kind of role exactly. After graduation, I had to make the decision to move home to find a job. Then, by luck, the first day I got back I had an interview with Daydreamer, the studio that I work at now. So, by trusting my gut and making a sequence of instinctive decisions, everything fell into place!

I work in post-production in the TV industry.

I've always wanted to do something creative as a career, and to be surrounded by creative people. I started doing internships in the industry when I was around 17; the first was in an advertising agency, the second was in TV production, and I now work in post-production. My work experience in each different stage of TV and advertising has been so helpful.

Now I get to work on music videos!

When I first joined Daydreamer in August, I was hired as a runner where you are essentially like a personal assistant to everyone in the office. This was such a good way to get a feel for how the industry works, and you also get to foster relationships with everyone in the office and meet lots of different people day-to-day.

As the months went on, I began doing some production assisting, and then eventually I was given projects to produce myself. Most often - and as luck would have it - these projects tend to be music videos. 

If you told me a year ago when I was graduating back in July 2024 that I would be producing the post on music videos for artists like Fontaines DC, Little Simz, and Lorde, I wouldn’t have believed you! 

Trusting my gut instincts along the way has brought me to where I am now, and I feel so lucky.