Rebecca Lee (Management & Organisation, 2011, Grizedale) tells how after honing her skills in the Big City, she returned to the North West to use her marketing knowledge to help publicise medical aesthetics and surgery.

"When I chose to study Management & Organisation at Lancaster University Management School (LUMS), I did so because I wanted broad exposure to all elements of business. However, as I neared my graduation in 2011, I found myself continually gravitating towards PR and marketing. Knowing that was where my interests truly lay, I packed my bags for London to start my career in communications.

I ended up spending a wonderful decade in the capital, learning the ropes at various agencies. My focus evolved from consumer beauty (always a big interest of mine) into clinical skincare, and I eventually found my niche in medical aesthetics and surgery, before moving back home to the North West in 2020.

My light bulb moment for starting my own business didn't happen in a boardroom. Early in my career, I spent weeks walking up and down Harley Street, popping into clinics to drop off skincare products and introduce myself. It was old-fashioned, grass roots PR, but it meant I got to sit down and chat with some incredibly talented dermatologists and surgeons.

During those conversations, I noticed something that really frustrated me: the most brilliant, highly qualified doctors weren't the ones getting the media attention. They were routinely being overshadowed by louder, sometimes less qualified voices simply because they didn’t know how the press worked.

That realisation is exactly why I founded RL Comms nine years ago. I wanted to ensure the right people were getting the airtime. Today, I run a specialist communications agency that helps elite clinicians translate their medical expertise into clear, authoritative features in publications like The Times, Vogue and The Telegraph.

The broad foundation I built at LUMS is still the bedrock of my business today. PR is sometimes mistakenly viewed as just 'fluffy media relations,' but my management background means I always look at the bigger commercial picture for my clients. I’ve also always remembered the incredible sense of community that LUMS fostered - that understanding of how a supportive network operates has completely shaped how I run my agency today.

If I could give one piece of advice to a current student or recent graduate, it would be to never underestimate the power of human connection. In an era where it is so easy to rely on AI for everything from networking to writing emails, genuine human relationships are your superpower. It was walking up and down Harley Street, shaking hands, and having real, unfiltered conversations that built the foundation of my career - not an algorithm."