5 minutes with ... Tom Shuttleworth

What are you up to these days?

I decided to continue my education, and went on to do a PhD following my graduation. I do this alongside working for an Institute within the University. Here I'm able to put into practice the writing skills I developed during my degree, writing copy for the external facing website, acting as a marketer, and lecturing. I also do a little teaching on the masters program.

Favourite Uni memory

In our first year we were asked to do an exhibition for our writing. I was initially sceptical, before I realised there were very few guidelines set as to what I was and was not allowed to do. I transformed a storage space into a human sacrifice chamber, complete with dangling organs, bones, and of course my story written in blood around the walls above my 'corpse'.

I'm not sure I've been forgiven for using real organs. As someone who is a more formal writer, it gave me the chance to explore a more artistic aspect of my work.

Advice for new students

Read. Read as much as you can. It sounds crazy, but there are some absolutely amazing essays and books out there which can completely change the way you view the world.

And don't be afraid to ask your lecturers for recommendations, they're there to guide your learning, and will be all too happy to point you in interesting directions.

Best thing about UoW

Its size. Winchester is a small University with an incredibly beautiful campus. There's a real sense of community here.

Guilty Pleasure

I'm quite enthusiastic about exercise, but my workout playlist is a little eclectic. I take a weird amount of pleasure in listening to Defying Gravity from Wicked while lifting.

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