Member of the Month: Natasha Chen

(3 min read time)

Hey Natasha! Congratulations on winning Member of the Month - could you tell us a little bit about your background, what apprenticeship you are doing & where you work?

Hey everyone! I’m Natasha, and I am completing a Digital Marketing Level 3 course at Taylor & Francis, which is a UK-based academic publisher that publishes scholarly books and journal articles. I am primarily homeworking, but I have had the opportunity to visit our two offices in London and am yet to see the one in Oxford! My apprenticeship is rotational, so I’ve worked across a variety of teams including PPC, SEO, social media, multimedia, and digital PR, and am currently working in email marketing and automation.

So, how do you feel about winning Member of the Month? Can you tell us a bit about your nomination? E.g who you were nominated by and why?

I was nominated by Aiesha Bhagodia, a fellow Digital Marketing Apprentice at Taylor & Francis. We work closely together as we’re in the same company but also work alongside one another as we move through the teams together. She nominated me for my work on Multiverse exams and portfolio, and the revision sessions and resources that I shared with the Multiverse apprentices who work at our company. Another part of the nomination was that I provide links to any interesting Multiverse Community Hub events to the Multiverse apprentices at Taylor & Francis that may be helpful or to their interest. 

I find it really important to take advantage of as many opportunities as you can, and because of the variety of things you can do on a Multiverse apprenticeship, I’m eager to share it with my friends and try and get them involved. We’ve all shared talks with one another about any events we think might interest us as we’re trying to figure out what part(s) of marketing we might be interested in and planning ahead for the future. It’s scary, but it’s nice that we’re going through it together so we can support one another. 

The revision sessions are also a wonderful opportunity for us to get some work done when we otherwise might not be very motivated individually. I’ve always found revising with friends to be better because it’s more fun to have people to bounce off and also go through the bits we don’t understand. It probably also helps that we had a Kahoot quiz and there’s a reasonable degree of competition between us all so that’s a bonus!

I’m really touched by the nomination as I never really expected it to happen. I don’t think I would have been able to get here without the support of the other apprentices, my line manager, Taylor & Francis colleagues, and Multiverse coach (thanks Ash!). I’ve never felt like I was alone at any part of the journey and always know I am supported if I have any issues, so I’m always happy to return the favour in any way I can.

The Multiverse Community allows Apprentices to build meaningful, social and professional relationships. Have you found the Community has helped you to build your network throughout your Apprenticeship and if so, how?

I think the Multiverse Community has helped build my network as I’ve been able to meet so many different apprentices across different courses and different companies, as well as work closely with apprentices within Taylor & Francis and see how our work all fits together. 

Being able to attend events virtually has been beneficial for me to fit things around my own schedule but also learn or listen about things I otherwise wouldn’t have thought about. It reminds you you’re part of a larger team and it’s been wonderful being able to grow and develop alongside my cohort and the other apprentices.

What has been the most rewarding experience you’ve had so far as an apprentice?

The most rewarding experience I’ve had so far as an apprentice is being able to meet so many people across the business and work closely with them. The nature of my work means that I’ve been able to move across the entire business from books to journals and eventually I will go back to books again. I’ve had the chance to push myself out of my comfort zone and try and learn new things I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to do. 

It’s been wonderful seeing how different teams work together and figuring out how I can work with them to achieve a common goal, but this has also given me a wider understanding of the company.