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Herjeavan has designs on a creative career

13/01/2023

Herjeavan Singh Tagger, 28 from Wolverhampton, has designs on a creative career following a rollercoaster learning journey to studying for a degree.

Having initially chosen to study a degree in Industrial Design, Herjeavan secured a place at a London-based university but soon realised he had made a mistake.  His passion was graphic design and he decided to transfer to the University of Wolverhampton to follow his dream of working in the creative industries.

He studied for an undergraduate degree in Graphic Design at the University’s School of Art before graduating in 2021 and then completed a Master’s degree in Digital and Visual Communication, graduating in 2022.

He said: “For me a massive thing is diversity in the industry, there’s not many people like me in the industry. I really want to embrace that and get more people from an Asian background working in the creative industries.

“I worked whilst studying for my undergraduate degree and it was a bit of a slog.  Also, I’d had a false start with the first degree I started to study, so it was a bit of an uphill battle getting to where I wanted to be.”

As well as working five days a week and studying for two days a week, Herjeavan did some freelance design work whilst studying for his Master’s course and worked with the University’s Centre for Sikh and Panjabi Studies on an exhibition which detailed the journey of immigrants from Punjabi to the UK.  He also focused his Master’s degree dissertation on the British Empire, looking specifically at immigration issues in relation to the Punjab.

He said: “I looked closely at the remit of the creative industries throughout my learning journey, at things like political branding, so I extended it much further than design, to look at things like post-immigration.

“The support from my lecturers, staff and technicians was a massive help in me completing this journey.  If students are facing challenges – like I did when I realised I was studying for the wrong course and then getting back on track – I’d say listen to your head and your heart.  People are here to help and you should never feel like you’re on your own.  As a Punjabi male, we don’t tend to speak about things like this, or admitting defeat, but it’s not defeat, it’s a success to open up and ask for help. I can’t thank the University enough – it was a massive help to me.

“My family and friends are really proud of me finally finishing my degree. It’s not just my achievements, it’s their achievements and they’re my biggest fan-base.”

Herjeavan was recently successful in getting a job with the University’s Content and Communications team as Digital and Social Media Officer and is on the first rung of the ladder to a career in the creative industries.

He is keen to support the Alumni Relations Team at the University in offering support to students like him either through mentoring, giving advice or speaking in classes to motivate students who are at the start of their learning journey.

He added: “I want students to see that there are Asian role models in the creative industry and this is a massive thing for me. There’s not many people like me in the industry and I never had someone like me offering support so this is my chance to give that back to students who are learning her now.”

Graduates are encouraged to keep in touch with the Alumni team and take advantage of a range of benefits and support on offer to them including a discount for Postgraduate study and opportunities to benefit from volunteering and career advice.    

Find out more about Screen School courses on the website or visit one of our Open Days for more information about studying at the University. 

 

For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.

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