Name: Eleanor Oxberry-Grice
Profession: Project Manager in AV/Theming/Lighting – Theme Parks, Museums & Family Entertainment Centres
Primary school: Tang Hall Primary School
Attended Millthorpe/Nunthorpe: 1994 – 1999
Post-16 attended: York College
University or college? Queen Margaret University – Edinburgh
Favourite subject at school: Drama & English
What I thought I wanted to do: Actress – which I actually did for 12 years
What I ended up doing: Waitress, Barperson, Actress, PA, Admin Assistant, Project Managers Assistant to Project Manager.
How I got here: I studied acting at drama school and post graduation moved to London, as the streets were supposedly paved with acting jobs. This wasn’t the case sadly, but I did gain lots of experience whilst auditioning and doing small bit parts and adverts, working in a variety of other industries, and had fun doing it. Eventually, I moved back to York, which was supposed to be temporary, but I fell in love and ended up sticking around, married my dream man and ended up at 35 landing my dream job which is super interesting, stressful but keeps me on my toes as no two days are the same.
Most useful skill or character trait for my job: Communication, both written and verbal, as well as presentation skills. Organisation is at the core of my role so I utilise calendars, project planning software and a variety of other tools to enable being on top of everything. I also have to be pretty good at maths to keep on top of the finances but luckily Excel does most of the calculating on my behalf but despite getting a D in my GCSE I’ve ended up using maths quite a bit!
Top tip! Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to be yet. Perhaps go to college or get into a job and try a multitude of things before you really settle into something. I had lots of friends who didn’t go to university but worked in jobs and studied later in life to get a career they really wanted and that was in their late 30s. Job satisfaction is very important ,as you spend a lot of time at work and enjoying what you do is pivotal for good mental health both in and outside of work. It’s never too late to change your mind about what you want to do with your life. It’s your life. Live it, enjoy it, try new things and if doesn’t work out, move on. There’s always something different around the corner.
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