Health & Protection speaks to Sophia St Cyr about finding an internship opportunity at Brighton-based OneFamily through the 10,000 Black Interns programme and throwing herself into work with the firm’s marketing and PR teams.
St Cyr (pictured) also discusses discovering the importance of protection insurance, how the programme has caused her to reconsider her career options and perhaps most important of all – how she has learned to evade pesky seagulls trying to steal food.
Dearth of career advice
Research from the Social Mobility Foundation and LV= released this week found 57% of young people from lower income backgrounds have access to talks or activities hosted by employers at school or college.
However fewer than four in 10 had access to advice from their parents about their next steps in their career or preferred career.
This compared with around six in 10 and four in 10 of those from professional or intermediate backgrounds respectively.
The 10K Black Interns programme
Initiatives such as the 10K Black Interns programme are seeking to overcome associated barriers to social mobility.
The programme is a UK-based initiative that aims to improve career opportunities for young Black people by offering paid internships across a wide range of industries.
This is the fourth year the OneFamily Group – which includes the life and critical illness cover brand Beagle Street – has taken part.
Over the past 12 weeks the provider has welcomed four interns across marketing, protection claims, and compliance teams. One of these interns was Sophia St Cyr.
Finding OneFamily
“I found OneFamily through a company called 10,000 Black Interns,” St Cyr tells Health & Protection.
“This organisation offers internship opportunities to underrepresented talent across a variety of different sectors by matching them with companies corresponding to their chosen sector – in my case, it was marketing.”
After submitting her application, the programme informed St Cyr that she had successfully secured an interview with the mutual, and after being asked to complete a short writing task, was offered an internship.
Gaining experience across departments
St Cyr has subsequently gained experience across various teams within OneFamily’s marketing department.
“I initially started working in the SEO and content team, writing an article about ISAs for the website,” St Cyr says.
“After I transferred to PR two weeks later, I sat in on case study interviews, contacted and pitched a thought leadership article to journalists, looked through hundreds of survey statistics and practised identifying which ones would make an interesting story – to name a few.
“I also worked in internal communications, writing articles about Financial Awareness Day, UK Black Pride and OneFamily’s internal staff recognition awards.”
Lessons learned
Reflecting on her internship, St Cyr recounts myriad lessons.
“I’ve learnt a huge amount on my OneFamily journey,” she continues.
“Not just about the finance and insurance industries but also what it was like to work in a corporate environment, professional tone while writing articles, pitching to journalists, how to build and structure articles and conversational questions to ask in interviews.
“I also practised analysing statistics from surveys and turning them into eye-catching headlines, while learning how to prioritise and structure my days as efficiently as possible.”
But these were not the only lessons St Cyr learned.
“And working in Brighton, I even learnt how to duck when a seagull tries to steal your food,” she adds.
“I’ve also been lucky enough to reaffirm my passion for creating written content – whether it’s professional and informational or colloquial and personal.”
Feeling of belonging
Other than dodging seagulls, St Cyr says her least favourite part of her internship is leaving OneFamily’s staff behind now that it is over.
“I really will miss working here, over the last three months I’ve really felt like I belonged as an employee. Not just through the level of trust my colleagues had in my work, but also through how friendly people were,” she continues.
“Brighton is one of my favourite cities, so I will definitely be sad to not be visiting it as often as I did during my time here.”
As for her favourite part, St Cyr points to writing articles on topics she is passionate about while developing her own writing tone accented with professionalism.
“Also, knowing that it’s just as exciting to have a non-linear or unconventional career path,” St Cyr continues.
“I appreciated learning about different employees’ journeys – how they started their career and what their journey was like.”
Importance of taking out protection
St Cyr has also taken away a lesson about the importance of taking out protection.
“Protection insurance is essential, an integral part of protecting your loved ones,” St Cyr says.
“People who have a mortgage with their partner, people with new families, people who have others who are reliant on them, should definitely consider taking out protection insurance,” she adds.
“I didn’t know that much about protection insurance before I started here, but now I understand how crucial it is for peace of mind.”
Truly unforgettable experience
Touching on the programme itself, St Cyr says these sorts of initiatives provide space and opportunity for young Black people to thrive, adding it has been a “truly unforgettable” experience.
“I’m grateful for the impact it will have on my next steps,” St Cyr says.
“I now have a much better understanding of finances and how to take better care of my money, as well as invaluable SEO, PR and communications experience.
“The transferrable writing and research skills, as well as collaborative and administrative skills are also a welcome, significant addition to my CV.”
Thinking about entering protection sector
It has also led St Cyr to consider a career in the protection sector.
“I didn’t actually have any experience in the finance, protection or marketing industries before OneFamily offered me this internship,” St Cyr says.
“My background is rooted in creative arts; I went to drama school for five years training to be an actor,” St Cyr continues.
“I then further pursued this passion at university where I studied English and Film,” she goes on.
“I hadn’t even heard of a Lifetime ISA or what protection insurance was before, in fact I barely even knew what an ISA was.
“I didn’t really have any financial education growing up – I ended up teaching my family a thing or two I learnt from my internship.”
Future plans
St Cyr adds that she really had not considered marketing as a viable option.
“I had no relevant qualifications or prior experience, but now I have both – a digital marketing certificate obtained in 2023 and this internship,” she continues.
“I’m an avid reader,” she adds.
“So I aim to pursue my passion for literature while using the transferrable skills I gained while working here; I aspire to work in the marketing team at a publishing house.”