Alumni in the Spotlight

We recently had the privilege of catching up with Arabella Hibbert-Corkhill, alumna of St. Michael’s School and one of the first ever pupils to board with us. Inspired by the Chinese pupils she lived with, she went on to study at the Beijing Language and Culture University and has since embarked on a successful marketing career, working for brands such as Nike, Adidas and the NFL. Whilst she was at St. Mikes, Arabella discovered her love of sport and now competes in triathlons and sporting events around the world.

Here, Arabella chats to our Marketing Manager, Alicia.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, when did you attend St. Michael’s?

I joined St. Michael’s in 2000 to start my GCSEs and finished in 2004 after my A-Levels. I was part of the first group of boarders in the new boarding house in Llangennech (Parc House) and I lived with a group of around 20 Chinese students. After I left St. Michael’s, I went to university in China, so I guess you could say the other students had a very big impact on me.

I moved back to London after five years in China and I started working in social media and digital marketing working  with western brands to market  their luxury products, experiences and tourism boards to Chinese consumers  around the world, specifically using Chinese social media platforms.  That’s where I started on this journey of working within the marketing industry, which led me quite a few years ago to working in the sports industry. Although at St. Mike’s I was on a music scholarship and my parents are classical musicians, I’ve gone down the sports route – I’m a triathlete, and I’m currently working with global brands like Adidas, the NFL and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Did you always know you wanted to work in marketing? Is that what you studied at university?

No. It was in part because of my experience in China.
I studied economics and Chinese language in at Beijing Language and Culture University, at  a really interesting time in China because it had begun opening up to the world in terms of trade and business and new Chinese social media platforms were being developed. Western social media at platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were no longer accessible so suddenly there were a lot of brands in the West that wanted to find ways to reach people in China and had to adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. I started working for a company called Hot Pot China in London and their sole mission was to enable brands and clients to do exactly that.

 

What is your favourite memory of your time at St. Mikes?

There are a couple of things which stand out for me: receiving my A-Level results was a full circle moment for me because the teachers at St. Mikes had been so supportive throughout my time as I travelled up from London every week to attend the school. It  was a moment of realisation that this [attending the school] had been  an amazing  experience and the best decision that I’d ever made.

Receiving my music tie (this used to be given to music scholars) in my first year was another and being Deputy Head Girl. I would say those experiences really made it for me.

A lot of pupils don’t always know what they would like to do career-wise, before they choose their A-Levels. What advice would you give to these pupils?

I was in that boat! My advice is to explore different interests and find new ones! That way, you’ll discover what excites and fulfils you. I didn’t start working in sport until I was far into my 20s and I love the idea of exploring different opportunities. That could be a sport, music, or, a hobby outside of school. Whatever that is, look to those opportunities. Try everything out because something unexpected might pop up.

One very important piece of advice I always give to A-Level and university students is to take advantage of everything your school and your university has to offer. I highly recommend joining societies, clubs and teams, and doing everything you can to have an impact because it shows the prospective employers that you are a self-starter, which is an impressive and important skill to develop.