Lucy Sellers
Lucy graduated with a BA in Politics. Find out more about Lucy's career.
About Lucy
Current location: UK
Degree studied: BA (Hons) Politics
About Lucy's career
Describe your current role
After graduating, I volunteered with a local Parliamentary Candidate on the early stages of his general election campaign. During the Autumn after graduation I took up a three-month internship with the Parliamentary Resources Unit in Westminster. The PRU works to draft briefings and correspondence for its subscribing MPs. Following the internship, I returned to work on the general election campaign before gaining full-time employment after the candidate was elected in 2010.
My main role is as a researcher to the MP. I research topics to create briefs and to advise the Member. This includes monitoring current events and tracking the progress of legislation in parliament, so that we stay up-to-date. The research I do is not only on national issues, but also on issues affecting our local constituents.
In addition to research, I draft responses to the vast amount of correspondence we receive from constituents on policy issues. I also manage our short internships and maintain our website.
Studying at Newcastle
I very much enjoyed the atmosphere in the Politics department at Newcastle. It was very much a feeling of all being part of the same team, rather than an ‘us vs. them’ attitude between staff and students that you find elsewhere.
I think the most useful thing I was taught at Newcastle was how to make a thoroughly cross-referenced and well reasoned argument. This has helped me obtain a thorough understanding of issues that crop up in my job and enabled me to provide better advice.
Gaining a good grounding in philosophical arguments and learning how to write well has certainly enabled me to excel in a career in politics.
Both Thom Brooks and David Walker inspired me with the way they both clearly enjoy their areas of work, and how they are able to transfer their knowledge to students in a fun, friendly and yet challenging way.
I love the city and I love the University, so if I had to go back and choose a degree all over again, I would still choose to do Politics at Newcastle.