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UTV’s Katie Andrews Shares Her Memories Of Studying At Belfast Met
We were really delighted when Katie Andrews, who graduated from the College in 2015, agreed to take time out of her very busy work schedule to talk to us about her time as a student at Belfast Met.
Originally from Saintfield, Co Down, Katie graduated in 2015 from Belfast Met with an HND in Creative Media Production (Broadcast Journalism). She has been working since 2019 as a Production Journalist producing UTV’s bulletins, Good Morning Britain, UTV Live at 6pm, Late News bulletins & weekend news. Katie will now be a familiar face for many, as she’s also been presenting the news since last November, having had opportunities to present Good Morning Britain and weekend news bulletins.
Katie said she was attracted to the college because she wanted to get real experience with staff who had first-hand experience working in the broadcasting industry. She also loved the facilities at the college which included industry standard TV and radio studios.
Katie reflected on the years leading up to this point in her career, “From a young age I always knew that I wanted to work within the Media industry. I was inspired to enrol for the Multi-Media Journalism course at Belfast Met as my preferred choice for further education as I admired the course’s reputation. It provided me with opportunity to continue my higher education in Multimedia Journalism at Teesside University, where I graduated with a First-Class Honours.”
Katie talked about her Belfast Met experience, “ I got fantastic support from my lecturers who genuinely really wanted all of their students to succeed. I loved my time at Belfast Met, which was a springboard for me to go to University”.
“We did a lot of group projects working in the TV and Radio studios where I had the opportunity to work on the programme Brilliant NI, so I got a real sense of what it’s like to self-shoot using industry standard cameras. I also presented some segments of the programme and having this opportunity to present on Brilliant NI was when I realized that I felt comfortable presenting in front of the camera.
“My favourite part of the course was the Broadcasting module, as we learnt so much from our lecturers who worked in broadcasting themselves. It helped me to develop the skills I needed to work in TV and Broadcasting as a whole. The course was very sociable - everyone worked together well, and we had a lot of fun along the way.
“There was always something exciting to look forward to on the course, whether it be an industry talk or project. I was particularly inspired by a visit we had from Vinney Hurrell, BBC Producer on the Nolan Show, who was really encouraging and helped us to have a ‘can do’ attitude, and to keep pressing on with our career goals of working in the media.
Katie also reflected on the social life and student events at the College, “My overall student experience at Belfast Met couldn’t have been better. Belfast Met was the right choice, as I went straight into Higher Education from school, so it wasn’t as daunting as moving overseas to go to university. The campus was really welcoming, and the staff kept us up to date about the many student events taking place. There was always something going on for students to take part in.”
After graduating from Belfast Met, Katie continued her higher education journey at Teeside University where she was awarded Video Journalist of the Year. This award included work experience at a local television channel in the North East of England, North East Live, where she worked as a self-shooting reporter and presenter for the channel for 2 ½ years, before pursuing a career closer to home with UTV.
Katie who really enjoys working at UTV confirmed, “There isn’t a more exciting and fulfilling job in the world. No two days are the same which I love, and I really get a buzz from working to deadlines every day. My work patterns vary from producing bulletins, editing, writing and writing articles for our website. The best part of working at UTV is the teamwork that’s involved, and I’ve also really enjoyed being in front of the camera more recently as well.
“I get a real sense of achievement from working behind the scenes with correspondents and reporters that I have always looked up to, and it is so rewarding to see the final news bulletin being broadcast following a busy day in the newsroom. I feel very lucky to be in the role I am in now, and hope I continue to have a successful career in Broadcast Journalism and can eventually progress into a reporting role within UTV.”
Katie was a lovely graduate contributor to speak to, and Belfast Met wishes Katie every success for the future.
Find out more about our Journalism courses