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SMBP Alumni Committee
The Alumni Advisory Committee is formed of SMBP alumni students from across the UK with varied career interests. They work alongside the SMBP team to increase students’ engagement and experience during their WISE programme.
Tenishia, Class of 2018
“I took part in the SMBP programme in 2018 with the Birmingham cluster. I gained insight into ITV’s and Barclays’ in-house legal teams. I was also able to see the intersection of law and media at ITV, and law and finance with Barclays. This helped me understand the role law played in both sectors. The programme also enabled me to build competency and soft skills. This was through team working activities at Deutsche Bank and at the SRA. These helped me with communication, problem-solving, presentation, and negotiation skills. One of the most impactful days was the Resilience Day with Wasps. The sessions that they led focussed on internal development and self-management. They used real-life scenarios to teach us about the impact of too much stress and how to manage our emotions. I gained more confidence in knowing how to handle myself under pressure as they gave me a toolkit to refer to. It was very empowering. I am now using the lessons and skills that I learnt on the programme to complete my undergraduate Law degree and on the Bar Training Course studying to become a barrister.”
Kerry, Class of 2019
“Now in my final year studying law at the University of Nottingham, I attended SMBP’s Bristol Cluster in 2019. The week really helped me kick-start my career journey, bolster my CV and develop crucial employability skills. For example, interviewers are always really interested to hear about my experiences with household names such as Yeo Valley, ITV and BT. This has helped me stand out in application processes and enabled me to secure various work experience opportunities with city law firms and governmental departments. Additionally, the confidence I developed in professional environments throughout the week helped me perform my best in interviews, networking events and during work experience placements. SMBP has been invaluable in helping me overcome the imposter syndrome I once had in professional settings and I now feel confident in pursuing my career goals.”
Megan, Class of 2020
“I attended the SMBP Work Insight & Skills week in 2020 in Bradford and so far it has been a huge help on my path towards a finance career. The skills I picked up have been so essential to what I have achieved since: a lot more confidence, planning, self-branding and teamwork! Since doing the programme, I have started a degree in Economics at University College London, joined a Muay Thai club, worked in a Blockchain advisory, bagged a summer internship in Global Markets at a top financial group, and undertaken a year-long placement at Capital Economics. I have also been a member of the SMBP Alumni Advisory Committee for the last 2 years which has given me my first experiences in a board meeting and shooting a promo video! I am incredibly grateful to give a little back to the charity, and make the SMBP programme the best it can be for as many students as possible.”
Daisy, Class of 2022
“My name is Daisy and I completed SMBP in 2022 in Bristol. My journey began with a small footnote at the bottom of a rejection email saying I didn’t make it into a programme I applied to but I would be perfect for an alternative programme. And they were right, I flourished with SMBP. I went from an attendee to an ambassador and then I made it into the Alumni Advisory Committee. During 6th form, I studied History, Sociology, Criminology, and EPQ and I am now a first year History student at the University of Nottingham. Career wise, I want to wait until I graduate to think about the path I want to take and what speciality in law I want to go into but I have attended a work experience week at Burges Salmon and completed two online law workshops. My personal goal is to speak more than 7 languages, become a lawyer; I also want to visit a lot of different countries. For hobbies, I like learning about history, my favourite topic to study is contemporary East Asia and I like knitting. Sports-wise, I love muay thai, ever since I picked it up as an alternative to kickboxing.”
Fiona, Class of 2022
“I completed the London SMBP insight week in the summer of 2022, visiting Arsenal, Google, Kingston Upon Thames local council, ITV, Osbourne Clarke and King and Spalding. Where I was for the first time able to practice skills, I never had the opportunity to do so before, for instance pitching at Google, negotiating with ITV and Osborne Clarke and presenting ideas at Kingston Upon Thames local council. I then followed with the Ambassador programme shortly after that, volunteering myself to be a chaperone for the 2023 SMBP Insight week, and I found it really interesting and eye-opening being able to have both the student and the staff perspective, particularly all the work that goes into it. I joined the Ambassador programme which helped embrace my fear in public speaking and engaging with new people and to develop those vital skills, imperative for a professional workplace. During that time, I was completing my A-level studies, studying Law, Economics and History and I now study at the University of Exeter.”
Vanessa, Class of 2022
As I participated in the SMBP work experience of 2022, it opened a multitude of opportunities for me and I was able to step into doors that I never thought existed: being provided exclusive insights to visit established organisations that focus on diverse career paths, meeting professionals in the field of law, business and accounting and visiting big name offices such as Manchester United, ITV, BOOHOO plc, PWC and Squire Patton Boggs.
I had the chance to recognise the work that is conducted day-to-day and also experience them firsthand by indulging in thought-provoking activities.
During the great journey of being an ambassador and chaperone, I was invited to interview for a position on the Alumni Advisory Committee. I gladly applied as I was committed to this impactful organisation and eager to contribute to the influence by sharing my ideas and feedback to what could be improved.
Here’s what others had to say - SMBP
I took part in various tasks and activities throughout the week working with companies such as BNY Mellon, Simply Business and Dow Jones. I learnt about capital markets, the people that are involved in businesses and how they run, how to gain commercial awareness and what competencies I can improve on before applying for jobs...some of these competencies included teamwork & leadership and communication, both of which I feel I have really improved on during the week.
Bailey, London ClusterEvery day was amazing, I enjoyed the insight I discovered from different businesses that held the 5 sessions. I loved meeting new people on the course and employees at the companies...I don’t think anything could have been improved...I recommend this to every student that wants to gather business insight or just wants to expand their knowledge.
Millie, National Online Week ClusterI took part in the SMBP programme to see what happens in a law firm and to get a taste of what the work involves on a personal level. The week was very positive overall, all of the locations were great and the days were informative. It was also great to network with people since it isn’t an opportunity I get often. Before the work week I had no clue what I was going to go on and do after school but the people I spoke to during the week convinced me to consider studying law and potentially coming back for work experience. Because of this I am applying to study law at university with the intent of eventually working my way into a professional rugby club’s legal team.
William, Glasgow ClusterI found that it was really useful to actually learn what employers expected from young people going to into the world of work. It was really interesting to find out exactly what employers look for when they are recruiting people into their organisations. The most useful session was on interview techniques, where I learned how important it is to know what to say during an interview. It was a great opportunity to visit different companies and see where people work. For example, at PwC, we had a full guided tour of the facilities and offices and therefore we could really experience life in that company. It was also really useful to hear the background that people come from and their pathways into what they are doing now. Overall, it was an excellent experience.
Jaydn, North East ClusterI knew I wanted to go to university and I saw how SMBP helped people like me. From visiting Osborne Clarke, Burges Salmon, TLT, I have more clarity in what I want to do in my career. SMBP has helped me with my confidence in negotiations, debating, presentation skills, and interviews. I’ve also been successful in becoming an SMBP Ambassador. It has also given me confidence in knowing there is a place in magic circle law firms for people who come from a background like mine. Law is a constantly changing concept of humanity, and it should be representative of the society we live in.
Daisy, Bristol ClusterI feel like the week has benefitted me. I visited Cambridge University Press and Assessment, Kettles Yard, Cambridge City Events at Anglia Ruskin University, and Cambridge Junction to learn about a variety of things such as sound and music. We also learnt how to work under pressure and deal with problems surrounding ethics. I have learnt a variety of skills that will benefit me and my CV. I took this a step further by becoming an SMBP Ambassador as I can put these skills to the test and show students what I have learnt and share my experiences.
Leah, Cambridge ClusterFrom this experience, I developed my confidence and learnt how to establish myself in a professional setting by honing my public speaking and presentation skills. We were taught integral skills and learnt how to develop a growth mindset go to through the rest of the week. The first day at Vanquis Banking I look back with fondness because I was offered a further professional placement there. This boosted my confidence for the rest of the week. In addition, I visited PwC and learnt about the different ways to pitch to people and the routes into the firm. At GXO Logistics, I gained an insight into the roles available and the methods for processing different things. Lastly, I visited Squire Patton Boggs, partnered with Morrisons where I developed pitching skills.
Zara, Bradford ClusterI took part in the SMBP week through the Access Ashurst programme. This experience was invaluable as an aspiring solicitor. Everywhere we went was so diverse which was lovely to see & the places we went to really made us feel involved. I particularly enjoyed the negotiation task at Amazon and the Dragons Den pitches at Uber. I’ve gained so many transferable skills from this experience. My weakness was communication but SMBP has enabled me to work on this and boost my confidence.
Nadeem, London Cluster
