Hansa Dabee, class of 2010

“The best part of my job is the people I work with. They are constantly supportive and encourage me to do more stuff and think outside the box.”

Since I graduated in 2010, I have been working as a Broadcast Assistant at BBC Radio Nottingham.

I primarily answer the phones and produce callers for the late show, BA for the African Caribbean programme and studio produce for the Asian programme. I have been on a few courses to build my confidence on the journalism side of my job as I didn’t focus on that at University. I specialised in radio throughout my degree and I love being creative with audio. However, journalism is very important when you work in local radio so you have to know your stuff if you want to progress within the beeb!

I work on specialist programmes so producing stories and finding content for them is sometimes the most challenging part of the job. On occasion when I do cover the full production shift, I have the freedom to explore Nottingham’s Asian community through audio and I can stretch my creative wings – so to speak:
One of the highlights of working at BBC Radio Nottingham so far has to be when we did an interview with the £1 fish man and he sang a personalised version of his hit song for us live on air:

I have been doing this job for almost 3 years now. I am still learning so much and I am not entirely sure where I want to end up as yet. BBC local radio is a great place to start a career in radio because you can learn so much from people already working there.

The best part of my job is the people I work with. They are constantly supportive and encourage me to do more stuff and think outside the box. One of the presenters I work with has become like a mentor to me and she often steers me in the right direction when my train of thought goes off topic. I am always smiling and laughing with the presenters I work with and it makes the atmosphere much more positive and enjoyable to work in.

Listen to Hansa on Soundcloud