My name is Elise, I am 24 and based in east London. My journey into the creative industries started when I was a young Lego and Sims obsessed girl, spending my free time building worlds and creating narratives for the people who lived in them. I recently found my Year 6 yearbook, where I said that my dream job would be either an architect or the Prime Minister… so that tracks!
This desire for world-building narratives found its natural home in studying English at university. Still unsure of exactly what I wanted to be in the future, and with the classic African Diaspora familial pressure to be a lawyer constantly looming in my periphery, I thought this would be a great choice (and allow for an almost definite law conversion in the future).
University was great. I really found my footing in my first term and started coming into my own. I was able to express my creativity through joining the University Amateur Dramatic Society and was a producer for a few productions. Then, it was March 2020, and global pandemic put a stop to all of that. Over the next few years of Covid University, I really felt my creativity dwindle and started losing hope that a creative path would ever be for me, especially with so few opportunities for people without industry connections – which I found out first-hand when I graduated and started looking for jobs.
That’s why, when I came across the STEP programme via the Arts Council website, I thought I had stumbled across a gem. An internship in the creative industries, that was specifically for young East Londoners, and paid! It seemed too good to be true. I was instantly drawn to the role of Assistant Editor for the Grimshaw Foundation – a new charity set up by the founder of Grimshaw Architects, a practice known for designing the Eden Project, London Bridge Station and the new Elizabeth line stations.
The Grimshaw Foundation champions creativity as an essential skill for the future and supports young people through six-month creative programmes, Big Build days, careers events and work experience opportunities. As Assistant Editor, writing for the Foundation’s editorial page and social media, the role would allow me to perfectly merge two of my passions: writing and architecture, with opportunities to use my work to inspire the next generation of young creatives.
The role was my first job out of university, and really my first job ever, so there was a lot to learn and space to grow. One of my first tasks involved interviewing and writing an editorial piece for the first Grimshaw Foundation x RIBA Annual Art Lecture with the world-renowned sculptor Antony Gormley. Incredibly exciting, and daunting!
I also had the opportunity to get stuck in with the creative programmes; taking on facilitator roles within workshops, such as Recycled Room, where we took 10 bags of clothes (that I sourced from the discard pile in a warehouse, that would have otherwise been incinerated), and turned them into tactile installations in schools. These workshops were a powerful reminder of how creativity can help young people think critically about sustainability and waste.
Throughout this time, I was lucky to have the support of my STEP 6 peers and amazing facilitators, Leila and Jordan, who provided an essential sounding board for my apprehension and unavoidable imposter syndrome. Monthly check-ins and consistent skill-building workshops, covering everything from project management, networking, to CV writing, helped to rebuild my creative confidence.
The Foundation’s small team (just me and two others working part-time) meant I had a lot of responsibility early on. Being a part of STEP 6 gave me a sense of community, and I felt like we could use the sessions to debrief about the month and give each other tips and support in any situation, whether it was how to phrase emails or advocate for yourself at work.
My mentor meetings were also incredibly encouraging. My mentor supported my growing interest in getting involved in film production and introduced me to platforms such as We Are Parable and My First Job in Film. As someone who has always been academically driven and was considering a master’s straight after my BA, one piece of advice she gave really stuck with me: You have time. Working in the creative industries can often feel like a rat race, but I’ve come to realise that it is ok to take time to get your bearings and not to have your entire life figured out by 25.
STEP had such a big impact on me that following my internship, I was promoted to Editor at the Grimshaw Foundation, and even got to line-manage my own STEP intern. Without the confidence and skills built during my internship, I don’t think I would have believed I could – in the span of a year – lead, support others, or step into that role with a sense of belonging.
I was then able to take on a major role in the Performance, Architecture, Design (PAD) programme with the Royal Albert Hall. It involved 160 students from eight London schools and 32 in-school workshops, requiring serious organisation, creative energy, and resilience – but it was a huge success and even won a TET Award.
Now, two years on from my STEP internship, its impact on me is undeniable. With east London changing so rapidly in the past few years, with creativity seemingly bursting at the seams, it felt frustrating that there was no clear route into starter industry roles despite all the jobs being at your doorstep. STEP made a creative career not just accessible, but achievable. I still work at the Grimshaw Foundation and now also have a role with the communications team at Grimshaw. Not quite an architect or the Prime Minister… but maybe not too far off!