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Brooke Lucy, BSc (Hons) Economics
With such a passion for art and natural flair for creativity, Economics at LSBU wasn’t the first degree to pop into Brooke’s mind when thinking of universityBrooke notes that her favourite class wasn’t any business-related subject, “My favourite subject whilst studying my A-Levels was Art. I have always studied art since Year 7 and also took it as a GCSE subject. I love how Art can be observed and interpreted by every person differently. I loved how there was no wrong or right to this subject, just the opportunity to express what you feel and put your creations into colours and other forms of abstract.”
And whilst Brooke is passionate about her future in economics, she still has the opportunity and energy for life to express herself in part time work where she is an interior designers admin assistant.
Brooke found her calling on her gap year
It was during her gap year after college that she secured an apprenticeship and got a taste for the business world. She worked full-time on an apprenticeship Scheme as a Financial Recruitment Consultant and worked on roles employing people for EY, Bank of England and BAE. Brooke comments on her apprenticeship scheme experience:
“I thoroughly enjoyed working here for the fact I met a lot of people who I still remain close to today. However I also thank this apprenticeship for being the reason why I pursued a degree in Economics. I released that I wanted to strive and achieve what the people I was recruiting into roles were, and I wasn’t going to do that unless I had a degree to my name.
I didn’t originally plan to land in recruitment. I was actually accepted into the London College of Fashion to study Fashion Footwear for Jimmy Choo, Louboutin etc, but when the time came, I released my heart wasn’t in it, and having a degree like that was extremely specific to a particular working sector within the economy.
But why LSBU?
“I chose to study at LSBU due to the location for me to commute to and from home, and because it offered the economics degree as a BSc and not BA. The importance to BSc in comparison to BA is it is regarded much more highly in the sector that I want to pursue a career in (Banking and Finance).
What I enjoyed most was it came across to me as an extremely modern university with a multitude of opportunities including Erasmus programs to go on exchange placements in universities abroad such as Australia and New York. I personally believe it doesn’t matter whether it’s a Russell Group university or not, it’s how the student applies themselves and is dedicated to their own learning and success.
Being at LSBU I have loved meeting with people of different cultures which I believe is something imperative to the century we live in today. I also liked LSBU because it didn’t come across as one that “baby’s” you like most did to me. I feel that being at the University has given me a great sense of being independent, the tutors are extremely helpful, but also encourage you to do your own research for your work/exams.”
Brooke shows her dynamic aptitude to succeed in multiple callings
Economics is a far cry from art, but Brooke has shown a natural flair for her subject.
“Studying Econometrics helped me secure my Internship with JPMorgan as I used a lot of excel and maths-based programs at LSBU. Also, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics which I learnt in Year 2 helped me get a head start, due to understanding the vocabulary used within the internship.
Overall there were over 400,000 applicants for the Internship program with only 450 chosen for the 10-week internship. After this from 450 applicants, only 100-150 were given the Grad Scheme, which I was offered.
I believe if I wasn’t at this university I wouldn’t have worked as hard as I have and strived to gain an internship in one of the best Financial Banks Globally and also a Grad Scheme with them.”
During her first year Brooke was the course rep on her Economics course, and due to her internship, is now a Student Ambassador for JPMorgan on campus at LSBU.
Want to know more about JPMorgan's CADP Program?
Brooke details the programme, "(It's) their two-year graduate program where you do three, eight-month rotations in departments of your choice. I have decided to do my rotations within Compliance and hope to gain insight into Global Financial Crime Compliance, LOB Trade Compliance and Wealth Management Compliance. After successfully completing this CADP program, we will then place ourselves anywhere within the company that we feel suits us best and begin our full-time positions as Associates which can then move up to VP level."