College of Humanities
Jennifer Nash
BA
While in secondary school in Kenmare, Jennifer Nash was unsure about what she wanted to do, but she knew that a degree programme with a broad foundation could be useful in building a career. The degree in Public Administration at UL provided her with just such a broad base of subjects, in a university with a reputation for a high success rate in graduate employment. It gave Jennifer the option of either competing for a position in the public service, or putting her knowledge to work for a wide range of private sector organisations.
Jennifer enjoyed her four years at UL where she was fully involved in promoting arts activities on campus. For her Cooperative Education placements, Jennifer worked in the Department of Transport, Energy & Communications and with Cork County Council where she says she "gained valuable experience in a real working environment - dealing with pressure, managing my time, communicating with clients and colleagues". She also found CoOp useful when she was looking for her first graduate job and says that the work experience was impressive at interviews. On graduation, Jennifer decided that she wanted to work in the area of software development. She subsequently undertook a postgraduate diploma in Business. On completion of her diploma she began a well-planned job search for a position within the software sector. This resulted in a position as an Implementation Consultant with Kindle Banking Systems, a company which develops banking software.
In her daily work, as an Implementation Consultant, she is responsible for working with Kindle's clients in the banking sector to help them meet their needs regarding sophisticated software products. Her job involves travel on extended assignments, mainly to developing countries including Kenya and Nigeria, a dimension of her work that she particularly enjoys. Since commencing with Kindle, she has been constantly involved in improving her skills and has taken courses in computer packages and management. Although the pace of change in the computing sector is rapid with she has found that the courses she took while at UL in Management, Computing and International Politics are useful in her current position because they make her adaptable to all sorts of situations.
"UL prepared me well for the world of work, and the campus itself has excellent sporting facilities, library and study facilities, and of course, UL has the best social scene of all!"