Alumni Stories: Matthew Dresch

  10th September 2018

In this series of posts, we look at what our former students do after they graduate in History at the University of Gloucestershire. It demonstrates the various types of opportunities that are opened up by doing a degree in History. The series highlights that as well as becoming critical thinkers, our graduates go into wide-ranging types of careers and go on to have fascinating experiences, providing useful guides for existing and future students of History. The next story comes from Matthew Dresch (class of 2015).

Matthew interviewing Conservative Cabinet Minister Michael Gove at the Royal Three Counties Show in June 2017

I work as a journalist for a daily newspaper in Worcestershire. It’s a great job as you speak to new people every day. My degree at the University of Gloucestershire was key to getting my job as it enabled me to study a Master’s in journalism at Cardiff University. I enjoyed the history course because of the diverse range of modules on offer and the passion with which the teachers taught them. It developed my interest in research and this is something that helps me in my work to this day. I also made some lifelong friends on the course and I loved my time in Cheltenham. If you are thinking about a career in journalism then starting out by studying history is a fairly common route. The two disciplines go hand in hand as they both revolve around curiosity, asking the right questions, and communicating the answers in a balanced fashion.

If you are an Alumni in History and you would like to contribute, please contact Christian O’Connell coconnell@glos.ac.uk