Tell us about yourself, where you’re from and what you studied at college

I’m from Dublin, and I studied a joint honours [degree] of Spanish and sociology in Trinity College Dublin; then I went on to study a master’s in marketing practice at UCD Smurfit before doing the Bord Bia grad programme.

I’m a really big foodie and in college, when I had to choose topics for presentations or the topic I was going to do my thesis on, I always chose something related to the food and drink industry.

I’m a strategic insight and industry capability grad. As part of that, my learning assignment is with the Talent Academy in Bord Bia, so that’s showing how Bord Bia supports Irish food and drink businesses, through consumer insight, but also how we are developing the industry’s future workforce through talent.

How did you find out about the graduate programme and why did you decide to apply?

My mum got an ad for it on Instagram, and she encouraged me to take a look at it. When I went to look into it, I realised this is literally everything I was looking for. There’s a master’s, that kind of made me stop in my tracks, because I’ve never really seen any sort of grad programme that had a master’s combined with the placement experience, and then there’s the international element.

How has your experience of the graduate programme been so far?

It’s been amazing. No two days have been the same. I know that’s a thing that everybody probably says but it genuinely is so true. I’ve been given exposure to so many different teams and so many different projects and career paths, and I think you’re constantly learning – I think that’s the part that I love about it the most.

It’s a two-year programme, and in my experience and from what I’ve seen of everybody else, you’re not spending two years doing admin tasks, doing photocopying, running to go get teas and coffees. From day one, you are really contributing to real projects with actual Irish food and drink businesses. So you’re given a lot of responsibility from the start.

There’s a really good support network while you’re learning as well, so it’s great. It’s been full of surprises. I knew before I joined that the food industry was really important and a huge industry in Ireland, but I realised just how extensive it is and internationally connected.

What are your career plans now?

The grad programme has confirmed that I want to stay in the food and drink industry. It’s opened my eyes to opportunities that I didn’t know existed.

I would love to move abroad – there is an international element to the programme. I’ve gotten to travel to new countries; I travelled with Bord Bia to Poland and I travelled to the UK. There’s hopefully a little bit more travel on the horizon, so it’s made me realise how far you can go with a career in Irish food and drink.

What’s your advice to graduates applying to the programme?

Don’t assume that you’re not qualified or experienced enough to apply. I think that’s a huge thing that gets in the way for people. Be curious, be open minded, don’t be afraid to put yourself forward for it.

Show off a genuine interest in the Irish food and drink industry.