Anna Beacroft

My name is Anna and I’m one of the 2022 Roosevelt Scholars. I’m a careers consultant at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in the employability team. We support students and graduates with all aspects of their employability from practical recruitment support to finding work experience, networking with employers, and making career decisions.

My project will explore how using peer-to-peer support models in university employability services can enhance student engagement and outcomes. Peer-to-peer is working with students as partners when delivering key employability services and is a really important model that can increase accessibility and student engagement. The majority of US universities use this practice, and many are renowned for their innovative and successful use of peer-to-peer. This can include peer advisers being the frontline of support, students working as brand ambassadors or influencers to increase the reach of the department and students being trained as full advisers to work alongside full-time members of staff. I want to explore how this can enhance the service we offer at NTU to support our students and graduates as they transition into their careers.

I will visit universities in the US and meet with both staff and students to understand the benefits, logistics and practicalities of developing a peer-to-peer model in a careers and employability service. Gaining this first-hand perspective of both peer advisers and students who access these services will be invaluable to see how this concept can be used to benefit our students. My route is still under development but I’m hoping to visit universities in New York, San Diego, Miami and North Ohio, amongst others.

I love to travel but this will be my first visit to the USA. I’m looking forward to exploring the diverse local cultures, meeting new people, and experiencing the world-renowned American education system first-hand and not just through a movie screen! I’m also looking forward to trying new foods, getting out into nature and hopefully doing some wild swimming, which I really enjoy.

I’m from Nottingham originally and eager to represent my city and county as well as the Roosevelt Scholarship. The scholarship is a fantastic opportunity to explore an area of practice that is not widely used in the UK and learn from US university career services who are at the forefront of their field. It’s a unique opportunity for experiential learning to support my personal and professional development and build my skills in an area that I’m passionate about. I can’t wait to explore the USA, immerse myself in the culture and bring back valuable skills and knowledge to Nottingham.