Our guest this week is Brigid Simmonds, a friend, member of the Stint advisory board and current Chairman of the Betting & Gaming Council.

Brigid’s first move after university was to join the British Army, an experience which saw her take on leadership responsibility very early on in her career - something she thinks every graduate can benefit from greatly.

We also discuss Brigid’s time as the CEO of the British Beer & Pub Association and hear how she feels her treatment differed as a high-profile female CEO. Brigid draws on these experiences to encourage our aspirational female students to continue pushing even when they feel like things are against them. 

Our guest this week is Peter Dickson, a narrator and broadcaster best known for being the iconic voice of Britain’s Got Talent and the X-Factor.

Peter’s journey to becoming the voice of British TV started when he was a student at Queen’s University Belfast, where he accepted a part-time radio job at the local BBC station. To this day, Peter credits this move for his big break, and urges students of today to follow suit in accepting all opportunities even if there is no visible reward or financial incentive.

Peter firmly believes that students should not hesitate to leave their comfort zone, whilst he shares wisdom regarding the value of making mistakes when young and how the law of attraction should be used to make decisions.

The guest for this episode is Craig Kreeger, former CEO of Virgin Atlantic and current non-executive director of Virgin Galactic. Craig’s journey from joining American Airlines as a Business Analyst to becoming the CEO of Virgin Atlantic was driven by his willingness to throw himself into any situation and his commitment to making sure he always felt as fulfilled and happy as possible.

The conversation also provides invaluable advice for students who are currently unsure about where they are heading, as Craig stresses the importance of staying true to yourself and outlines what one should look for before settling on a job.

The guest for this episode is Sir Anthony Seldon. A renowned headmaster, university Vice Chancellor, contemporary historian and biographer, Sir Anthony has a truly unique perspective on the education system and the pressures faced by young people. His work and approach to happiness and living a life of fulfilment is truly fascinating and something every single one of us can learn from. 

An introduction to the Next Step from our podcast host and one of the co-founders of Stint, Sol Schlagman. This episode provides a preview of our view on the reality of the challenges faced by students and why we are so determined to help in any way we can. It also touches upon some of the topics and themes that we will discuss with our guests over the course of the podcast.