Former Rotherham College student now working for the BBC filming football
For millions of football fans around the country, tuning in to watch Super Sunday, Match of the Day or the BBC Football League Show is a ritual. Luke Cardwell, former Media Production student at Rotherham College, is the man behind the camera who captures the pictures for football fans to enjoy.
He works for the BBC filming football, a job that for many football fanatics would be considered as a dream job. The opportunity to work for the BBC was presented to Luke on his course by his tutor, Sara Hall, who offered Luke and the rest of his class work experience filming football at Rotherham United Football Club.
Luke says: “Sara offered everyone in the class the chance to go and do some work experience for the BBC and I didn’t think twice about putting my name forward. I realised that you needed to embrace opportunities like this to get your foot in the door of the media industry.”
Luke was a student at the College for over five years; he started as a Level 3 Media student and progressed up to HND in Creative Media Production.
He says: “My Level 3 course provided me with the skills and knowledge I needed to go on to higher education or university; you gain the skills and experience you need to make that step up.”
The tutors on his course supported him throughout and recognised his commitment to learning, even when not in the classroom. He has been involved in a number of projects at the College such as making a promotional video for the Rotherham Institute of Obesity, producing a Student Services promotion video and creating an awareness video for Harmless, an organisation for self-harm.
The opportunities offered to him on his course have helped him put theory into practice and gain work experience with real clients.
The commitment he showed has paid off and he’s gained BBC accreditation and is now filming football matches on his own for the BBC Football League show.
Luke praised the tutors on his course and encouraged anyone thinking about a career in media to go for it, saying: “I’d recommend my Level 3 course because it offers everything you need to get started in media. There is a lot of client based work which provides you with the opportunity to gain work experience with real clients.”
He added: “The teaching on the course is exceptional. Tutors like Sara have been out into the media industry, so you get taught by experienced tutors.
“If I didn’t do a media course at Rotherham College, I wouldn’t have got the opportunity to work at the BBC.“
Luke has aspirations to progress to doing more creative camera operating and he hopes the skills he has learnt at College and in the workplace will support him in achieving his goals.
Find out more about Luke’s and other students success stories by visiting: www.rotherham.ac.uk/mystory