This page features a range of Concrete’s alumni discussing their varied career journeys, and how their time at Concrete helped them.
These responses were provided as part of our alumni survey for Issue 400 in 2024, in answer to the question ‘What have you done since leaving [Concrete], and has your experience with Concrete helped you?’
Steve Howard (Founder & Publisher, 1992-94)
Nothing particularly journalism or publishing related. I was a Computer Systems student (one of just 6!) and it was the time of the dot com boom. I eventually went to London to try my luck, and although I made ‘a few quid’ I lost almost just as much. I now live back in Norwich, and occasionally pop in to UH to pick up a copy. I’m happy to see some of the hard working team of the era now in top level jobs in the media though.
Simon Mann (Advertising Manager, 1992-96)
I worked as a Probation Officer (and briefly as a Manager in Electronic Monitoring – ie: tagging) from 1998 until my retirement in 2012.
Although my involvement in Concrete did not feature in my career, the overall experience was one of the most significant in my life (to date!).
Peter Hart (Editor, 1992-94)
I’ve always maintained that experience gained on Concrete is invaluable and will put you head and shoulders above other job applicants. Whenever I’ve looked at CVs from entry-level job applicants over the past three decades, I’ve always been keen to see whether they had the passion to get involved in student media at university – if they had, then invariably they had acquired some great skills and experience necessary to do the job.
Since Concrete and UEA, I’ve spent my career working in print and digital publishing in the youth, women’s and lifestyle markets at UK media businesses including Emap (now Bauer), the BBC, Immediate Media and Reach PLC. Having worked in youth and children’s publishing for more than 20 years – including editing Top Of The Pops Magazine and devising and launching Pokémon Magazine – I’m currently the acting deputy editor of OK! online.
John Barton (Writer (Wrote the first front page), 1992)
I have tinkered with some freelance writing but I left the UK a long time ago and life took a different and unexpected path. I am living in the north of Japan now which seems a million miles from Norwich.
Shaun Harley (Sport Writer, 1992)
After UEA, I trained as a journalist and worked for several consumer magazines in London for a few years before making the jump to the corporate world. Working on Concrete gave me confidence to pitch ideas and I enjoyed being part of the original editorial team, which was full of ambition.
Kay Spragg (Copy Editor, 1995-96 & 1996-97)
I got my first job in publishing in 1999 thanks to my experience at Concrete. The key thing at interview was the fact I wanted to put my red pen to good use and edit rather than write.
I currently work at Oxford University Press and have done for 13 years. Ready for early retirement soon though
Marcos Simpson (Sport Writer, 1996)
Finance director.
The concise writing style has helped hugely with business memos / reports
Paul Stokes (Music & Arts Editor, 1996-99)
Concrete definitely helped me get onto a journalism course after UEA, while all the music I wrote about and the experience of interviewing artists who played in Norwich and the UEA, directly led to me becoming a not entirely unsuccessful music journalist for the last 20 years when I finished that. I’ve had some truly amazing journalistic experiences, that I can genuinely trace back to Concrete asking me to interview Audioweb in 1996.
James Goffin (Editor, 2000-2001)
Concrete definitely set me up for my career. I’d wanted to be a journalist from a young age, but Concrete gave me really strong experience to take to employers – in my case to the Eastern Daily Press, who had picked up several of our stories. The EDP paid for me to train as a journalist and gave me my first job.
Since then I ran the websites for two daily and five weekly newspapers in Suffolk – including live blogging a major court case before Twitter was a thing – and then designed and ran the editorial side of a publishing system used to produce newspapers, magazines, and websites for more than 100 publications.
I now work in public relations, with experience across education, the NHS, and local government.
Nick Henegan (Deputy Editor, 2000-01 & Sport Editor, 1999-2000)
Concrete was the gateway to my career in media and communications. I made it onto the Mirror’s graduate training scheme and spent five years as a news reporter on national newspapers. I then moved into communications and PR working for the Met Police, BBC and HM Government. I’m now Head of Comms for Hertfordshire County Council.
Clare Dennison (Proofreader, 2005)
I included it on my CV when I looked for a job in publishing (though if I was being very honest I probably only worked on half a dozen issues). I had so little office experience though that I’m sure this helped me to get the first step on the ladder. Still working in publishing 17 years later.
Isabel Dyson (now Vincent) (News Editor, 2005-06)
After graduating I moved to London and worked in marketing and communications for several years. My partner and I then shipped an old motorbike to Alaska and zig-zagged down to the tip of Argentina. We published a travel blog and then I wrote a travelogue book on our return (Beads in the Headlight) which was published by a US-based publisher.
I worked in communications again, for a government funded project that aimed to achieve better outcomes for public service users, by improved information sharing between agencies and public service providers. I married my partner and we are raising a young family of 3 boys, while I am currently working as a freelance writer.
Concrete gave me confidence to put myself forward, achieve progress through hard work, collaborate with others, explore new technologies, be more inquisitive and curious, and to understand the significance of adapting your style and tone of writing for specific audiences.
Andy Judson (Deputy Editor, 2007-08 & Film Editor, 2006-07)
I’m an accountant now! But Concrete probably did teach me how to manage a team and work to a deadline (I did not do either of these well).
Emmeline Saunders (Opinions Editor, 2007-08)
After graduating UEA in 2008 I did my NCTJ diploma and started writing for a content marketing agency. After a few years in the trenches I got lucky and scored some shifts at heat magazine – and after three years as a showbiz journalist I was headhunted to the Mirror, where (among several roles) I came full circle and served as the paper’s first Opinion Editor. While journalism is a challenging industry, Concrete was a great introduction to the newsroom… and an excellent grounding for filing copy from the pub.
Harry Low (Sport Editor, 2008-09)
I am now a reporter for BBC News. Taking my first steps into the word of journalism with Concrete was enormously helpful
Marcus Jones (Editor, 2007-08)
I was a financial journalist for a short time, but wasn’t that good at it. I’m a far better English teacher. The main thing Concrete gave me was the ability to never miss a deadline of any sort.
Grace Simpson (The Event (Venue) Editor, 2009-10 & Food & Features Editor, 2007-09)
I am now a HR Director and looking back, being an editor was my first experience of managing a team. A very unruly team who didn’t get paid and were perpetually drunk or hungover! Although I didn’t pursue a career in journalism, I learnt so much more about the world, work, life, people than doing my degree. The 40 hours a fortnight were well worth it.
Justine Dashwood (formerly Wallis) (Lifestyle Editor, 2008-09)
I began working in publishing soon after I graduated in 2009 and I do think my experiences at Concrete helped me to build a portfolio and get interviews for my first few roles. Somehow, unpaid advocacy roles sharing my experiences of mental health, disability and LGBT+ inclusion turned into a career, and I’m now an EDI practitioner. Currently I work as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at the University of Stirling.
Alex Throssell (Venue Editor, 2011-12 & Music Editor, 2010-11)
With a passion for print running high, I helped create student run independent magazines White Paint with my good friend Sean Purdy, who was on his own magnificent journey into becoming a brilliant graphic designer.
After graduating, I took issues of Concrete and White Paint to an interview at local publishers Archant in 2013, and got offered a newspaper planning job which led to a decade’s career in local publishing. I know from their reactions that writing and editing Concrete while also studying for my degree was impressive to them, and what made me the best fit for the job.
Chris Teale (Managing Editor, 2012-13 & Sport Editor, 2011-12)
I live in the United States, and have done since I graduated in 2013. I live in Washington, D.C., where I still work as a journalist, having moved here for a girl I met at UEA, only to see things with the girl end.
Currently I work for a publication called Route Fifty, where I cover state and local government technology. I’ve also worked covering tech for Morning Consult and Smart Cities Dive, and before that had stints in local news with ARLnow and the Alexandria Times.
Concrete has been huge for me. Every day that I write, interview or report, I’m putting into practice skills I learned at the newspaper. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.
Billy Sexton (Features & Sport Editor, 2011-13 & Online Editor, 2013-14)
Worked in marketing, editorial and now sales but Concrete definitely got me in the door at my first job
Anna Lou Walker (Copy Editor, 2014)
I’m working in journalism. I was the editor in chief of Reader’s Digest magazine for five years, and now I’m the senior arts and culture editor at The Conversation UK. Concrete undoubtedly helped me get my start in the industry and the experience of working in a collaborative newsroom, chasing stories, sub editing and working to deadlines was invaluable.
Geri Scott (Editor-in-Chief, 2014-15)
Concrete got me my first job! It was the 2025 election and I went in to see the editor at the EDP to see if they’d like to use some of our writers for coverage from the SU bar overnight, and when I got home I had an email offering me a job as a trainee reporter. The pay was rubbish but it was a great opportunity. I started at the EDP before graduation and stayed there until 2019, when I joined the Yorkshire Post as Westminster Correspondent, then moved to PA as Lobby Correspondent and now I’m at The Times as Senior Political Correspondent. [Geri is also still involved in the world of student media as a Trustee of the Student Publication Association.]
Oliver Povey (Writer, 2017-2020)
I have since become a sports journalist in Spain; I used articles I wrote at concrete as part of a portfolio.
Chris Matthews (Editor-in-Chief, 2019-20 & Comment Editor, 2018-19)
I can safely say Concrete has helped me more than my degree! When I was looking for a job, no one asked about what I studied, they cared about what I did at the student paper. These days I’m a news reporter at MailOnline, the most-read English language news website in the world. I also do Assistant Night News Editing and copytasting. The skills I learned at Concrete – news writing, media law, organising a team, editing, data journalism/FOIs, investigative reporting – are skills I still use today. The newsroom is full of student journalists – at the Mail alone there’s at least four from Concrete. Whichever uni you’re at, if you want to become a journalist, join your student paper!
Roo Pitt (Venue Deputy Editor, 2020-21, Lead Photographer, 2019-20)
Absolutely helped, it helped me realise that whilst I don’t want to be a journalist, I did want to work on the ‘other side of the desk’ in PR/Marketing/Comms, I now run a marketing business & the confidence I gained in my photography means I still do it today.
Emily Kelly (Breaking News Editor, 2021-22)
I joined a grad scheme with a software company, and am now a full member of the team. I’m currently working on a suite of online training, where my copywriting skills have come in very handy!
Sam Gordon-Webb (Deputy Editor, 2021-22 & Features Editor, 2020-21)
I have worked as an Assistant Editor at a publishing house, supported UEA’s social media as well as Waterstones as a Bookseller. I’m studying for an MA in Crime Fiction, while balancing academic work with A-Level tutoring. Concrete reinforced my drive and determination to make use of every moment.
Hamilton Brown (Venue Deputy Editor, 2021-22 & Creative Writing Editor, 2020-21)
I have found a job in publishing, which is exciting. My role as both CW Editor and Deputy Editor of Venue has given me a lot of transferable skills.
Badriya Abdullah (Deputy Editor, 2022-23 & Social Media Manager, 2021-22)
Since leaving Concrete, I’ve stayed at UEA to do my Poetry MA but I’m still reading the newspaper to stay updated. Seeing Matthew and Eve spearhead Concrete together is amazing and it’s brilliant to see the paper being left in good hands. I’m going back to what got me involved with Concrete in the first place and honing my skills in social media and copywriting before I go off into the big wide world. I’m so grateful for my time in Concrete in improving my confidence and seeing the virtues of working in a truly amazing team – I hope that all those involved now and in the future have the same crazy and rewarding experience that I did!
Louise Collins (Venue Editor, 2022-23 & Books Editor, 2021-22)
Working on Concrete gave me so many skills in the industry I want to work in, but more importantly, it gave me immeasurable confidence in myself.
George Barsted (Science Editor, 2022-23)
It helped land me a job in journalism!
Izzy Millen (Writer, 2021-23 & Livewire Deputy Station Manager, 2022-23)
I only left last year, but I’ve been working for Suffolk County Council in Communications and Engagement. Learning to draft to a brief through press releases and being able to convey what I need to in a small package has been a real skill.
Ray Khawaja (Venue Deputy Editor, 2022-23 & Online Editor, 2021-22)
I’m a contributing freelancer for a games website, writing articles especially for concrete really helped with knowing my skills.