My name is Bethany Gormley and I am the incoming graduate trainee at Cardiff University. I graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2020 after finishing a degree in English Literature and Drama in addition to my studies I was fortunate enough to undertake a year studying abroad in Singapore. 

Fundraising formed an integral part of my university experience and in my final year I joined the committee for Valefest which is the largest student run charity festival in Europe that annually donates 100% of its profits to local charities in Birmingham. In this role, I was not only responsible for managing one of the festival's largest stages, but I was also responsible for organising and running a series of fundraising events staged throughout the year. The impact the festival's contributions were able to make to the local community really cemented my desire to work in the charity/third sector and since graduating I have spent a great deal of my time in lockdown mentoring and tutoring secondary school pupils from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds through a charity that seeks to widen academic attainment for all young people. As a result, I am also incredibly passionate about increasing accessibility to higher education and hope that this is something I can be involved in fundraising for whilst at Cardiff University. I am so grateful to be a part of the CASE graduate scheme and I can't wait to develop upon my fundraising knowledge and take on new challenges within the sector.