When you think about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’s Monster, you might think of the original description from the novel featuring shrivelled skin, watery eyes and patchwork of scavenged body parts. Or you might think of Boris Karloff’s depiction of the Monster with metal bolts protruding from his neck in the 1931 film, Frankenstein. Either one, it paints a pretty gruesome image of an experiment gone wrong and you’re probably wondering at this point what on earth can an administrator have in common with Frankenstein’s Monster.

Whilst I wasn’t created in a lab and hopefully, my Manager won’t be chasing me to the Arctic Circle. There are similarities in the way in which my role is a mixture concocted to benefit, maybe not mankind, but definitely the Partnership and Business Engagement Team (PBE).

My role is stitched together to support a variety of different areas of the PBE team for example, I support the Student Engagement Team, where I help in the delivery of the annual Science and Technology Careers Fair, help organise vacancy applications and advertise opportunities. But I also support our Marketing Manager, in writing newsletters and creating content for social media, as well as support the Faculty Director of PBE as his personal assistant where I manage his diary.

Some reading this might think that this is very overwhelming, and ask how on earth I haven’t found my first grey hair yet. Be rest assured, unlike Frankenstein’s Monster it’s not such a hideous business. In fact, it’s really benefited me, as I started my career as an unsure recent Lancaster University graduate; undecided what to do with her English Literature and Creative Writing degree. Like Frankenstein’s Monster I was confused, and asking myself questions I couldn’t answer like 'What did this mean? What was my destination?’ [1]

When I first started, I was interested in working in Careers, and was able to conduct my own experiment by taking up a secondment to see if this was the path I wanted to take. However, in the same way Frankenstein’s Monster had to learn that roasting berries doesn’t make fine cuisine, I had to learn that a career in Careers was not for me. Both the Monster and I learned from our experiences, and can continue to make further steps in the right direction. I was able to decide to work towards a career in Marketing, and the Monster learned to roast just the nuts and roots.

To conclude, even though my role might sound terrifying and fill you with horror with mental images of a worn-out diary, discarded energy drink cans and a packet of herbal calming tablets – Don’t panic, like Frankenstein’s Monster my role is not to be judged on appearances alone. I get to be creative, and have the freedom to develop my ideas as well as work with an amazing group of colleagues, who even during lockdown still manage to retain our team spirit. My time in my role has given confidence to take chances, experiment and follow my career abiding by my favourite quote from Frankenstein, ‘Beware; for I am fearless.' [2]

[1] Berthold Schoene-Harwood and Tredell, N. (2000). Mary Shelley, Frankenstein. Duxford: Icon.

[2] Berthold Schoene-Harwood and Tredell, N. (2000). Mary Shelley, Frankenstein. Duxford: Icon.

Related Blogs

• 

  Recycling Additive manufacturing waste: Shred-it, Dry-it and Extrude-it

• 

  A Sustainable Love for Chemistry

• 

  The Greater Manchester AI Foundry

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by our bloggers and those providing comments are personal, and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lancaster University. Responsibility for the accuracy of any of the information contained within blog posts belongs to the blogger.