A talented fashion promotion student from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) had a double reason to celebrate recently having won a prestigious national competition and landed a full-time job, all within the space of one week.

Sophie Ashley, 22, from Freckleton won a challenge set by the Graduate Fashion Foundation (GFF) to celebrate the organisation’s 30^th anniversary.

Seven days later the former Cardinal Newman student was beaming from ear-to-ear when Smile Lab Solutions in Wigan offered her a full-time digital marketing role, Sophie’s first graduate job. 

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Sophie said: “When I heard I’d won the competition I just burst into tears as I’ve never won anything before.

“I entered because it was a great opportunity to gain some experience but to win and then see my ideas being turned into reality was amazing. To hear I’d been successful in landing my first graduate role has really topped everything off.”

The aim of Sophie’s promotional campaign for GFF, entitled ‘30 in 30’, was to focus on the success of former GFF student winners, through telling inspiring stories. Depending on the platform, these tales could be told within 30 seconds, 30 minutes or in 30 words with the aim of capturing the attention of young adults.

Commenting on Sophie’s work the GFF judging panel said: “As a team we were amazed by the creativity displayed in Sophie’s ideas and loved the overall campaign of 30 in 30, it is clear that she has carefully considered and researched the brief in detail, and this is shown through the quality of her submission.

“We were also very impressed by the layout and use of our branding throughout her submission, giving the document the feel of a professional creative proposal. Amazing work, Sophie!”

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Sophie added: “It’s been a whirlwind few weeks.

“My degree, which incorporated a year’s work placement, was really practical and I also received great support from my tutors who all have industry experience. 

“Everything I’m doing now is putting into practise the knowledge I gained during my course which has been fundamental to my success.” 

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