Oakley Pendergest

Member of the Dean's List, class of 2023

Oakley has approached every experience as an opportunity to help others. During her placement at Unilever she led a charity partnership with The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, and opted to complete two additional 12-month marketing and innovation courses. After winning the Development Team Superstar Award and achieving the highest placement review score out of 130 interns, Oakley was offered a fast-track through the Unilever Graduate Scheme. 

Giving back to the community

On return to the School Oakley shared her learnings with eleven fellow students as a Placement Ambassador, having benefited from Placement Ambassador mentorship during her own applications. She was nominated for the ‘Inspiring Student Worker Awards’ in the ‘Significant Contribution’ category for dedication to her role.

As a Student Mentor Oakley supported five first-year students for a year, continuing to support one of her mentees for a further two years and providing valuable insight to help them apply for a placement at Unilever. As a result of her commitment and enthusiasm for mentoring, Oakley was awarded the ‘Outstanding Mentor Award’. 

In the wider University, Oakley was elected Captain and Committee member of the Women’s Hockey Club. When faced with the challenges of the Covid lockdowns, she took the initiative to organise social walks using a buddy system to ensure club members were able to maintain social links. She helped to organise multiple charity fundraising initiatives, including leading a team in the Club’s entry to ‘Race across the UK’ which raised almost £3,000 for Cancer Research. 

Growth mindset

Oakley’s strong growth mindset enabled her to gain a wide array of meaningful experiences and employable skills. She took an opportunity to learn from experienced University alumni in the Careers Service eMentoring programme, and as a result of her proactive approach to personal growth was nominated ‘Mentee of the Year’ in 2020. 

Throughout her studies and for a total of five years, Oakley held a position as Team Leader for a catering company, boosting her communication and professional skills while working at events such as weddings and balls. To further develop her marketing skills and experience, she also became Social Media Engagement Officer for Bee Happy Media, which gave her the experience of marketing and tracking metrics for a large client. Oakley also dedicated time to roles within the University as Student Ambassador, SUMS Content Creator and contributing her student voice as a University Marketing Panel member. 

As an At Home Consultant for The Body Shop, Oakley was promoted to Area Manager due to her strong performance and grew her team to ten consultants. Never missing an opportunity to be socially responsible, she organised a hand cream donation drive for her local hospital through her role with The Body Shop. 

After receiving her degree with first class honours, Oakley accepted a Marketing Graduate position at British ecommerce company, The Hut Group, to join their fast paced, growing business environment.