Spotlight on Rachel Heatley

This week the spotlight is on Rachel Heatley, Student Communications Manager, UCL Communications and Marketing.

What is your role and what does it involve?

My role as Student Communications Manager involves producing myUCL, the weekly all-student e-newsletter which contains UCL-wide announcements, news, events, opportunities and need-to-know information to the student body.

The Student Communications Manager role is a new one and has come about because there is a real desire from within UCL to communicate more effectively with students. Research conducted with UCL students in 2013 showed they were unhappy with the sheer volume of emails they were receiving and the uncoordinated nature of the messaging. What they wanted was a weekly e-newsletter providing updates on institution-wide activities and opportunities, hence the creation in October 2014 of myUCL the weekly student newsletter.

How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?

I started at UCL in January 2013 and up until November 2014 I was based in the Research Coordination team as Neuroscience Communications and Events Officer. My role involved event management including the annual UCL Neuroscience Symposium, public engagement projects with the British Library including collaborative events such as the Counting sheep: the science of sleep, as well as communicating with the neuroscience community via e-newsletters and social media.

Prior to UCL I've worked in communications for the charity sector at Age NI and Cancer Research UK. I've also been a journalist, a fruit picker, and worked in both the finance sector and medical regulation.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

I am very proud of the work I did on Stand Up To Cancer, a fundraising campaign for Cancer Research UK which culminated in a telethon on Channel 4. The campaign raised over £7million to fund translational research which takes developments in the lab and transforms them into new tests and treatments for cancer patients.

It was my job to get regional media in the UK interested in the campaign. So I worked with the charity's press officers to find CRUK supporters living cancer who wanted to share their stories in the press and on social media. Unfortunately it was all too easy to find spokespeople, so many people came forward from kids to grandparents and every age group in between. It was a real joy getting to know so many brave, funny, strong people - an experience I'll never forget. They inspired me to fundraise and I found myself dressed as 'Where's Wally' abseiling down the Angel Building in London.

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of you to-do list?

My first big priority in this role is to develop and implement a coordinated strategy for communicating with current students. To make sure the strategy is as effective and inclusive as possible, I am working alongside the Student Communications Steering Group made up of representatives from schools, faculties, administrative departments, and UCL's student union to garner their views and experiences of how best to communicate with students at UCL.

What is your favourite album, film and novel?

Album: Graceland: Paul Simon and a Motown mixtape that has been in my house since 1986.

Both albums are the soundtrack to every car journey I ever had with my family, so I should be sick of them but I'm really not.

Film: Three-way tie between It's a Wonderful Life, La Vie en Rose and my favourite film of 2014 Pride.

Book: The Power of One - Bryce Courtney is my favourite book as an adult but The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier /Dogger by Shirley Hughes were my childhood favourites.

What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?

I hate Russian dolls...so full of themselves.

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

There are lots of famous people I'd love to have dinner with like Julie Walters, Peter Kay, David Attenborough, John Hume and Katherine Hepburn to name but a few.

But if I had the choice I'd really prefer a get together with all of my extended family who are dotted around the world. Nobody makes me laugh like they do, so throw in some good food, and a reunion with all of my family and that's my perfect dinner party.

What advice would you give your younger self?

A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for most things.

What would it surprise people to know about you?

I have a fear of driving, I can write shorthand and I'm absolutely tone deaf (although the last won't be a surprise to anyone who has had the misfortune of hearing me sing).

What is your favourite place?

For me there really is no place like home, so Warrenpoint, Co. Down, a coastal town on the border between north and south of Ireland always tops my list. In particular Kilbroney Forest Park, Rostrevor which is nestled in the Mourne Mountains is my favourite spot and incidentally C.S. Lewis took his inspiration for Narnia and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from this area of the world.