Abbey Hilson

"I've always been passionate about people and the impact they can have on businesses," says Abbey Hilson, a Bachelor of Communication Studies graduate who's now  working as a senior marketing & communications analyst at IHS Markit in London.

"Communication is key for any business to succeed, and it was this passion that led me to study Public Relations and Marketing at Waikato University. Our lecturers not only taught us the theory, but also gave us the opportunity to put all of our knowledge into practice."

"Creating a real-life public relations campaign in third year was the highlight of my BCS degree. We learnt how to deal with people, clients, deadlines, stress and all the things that come with working in the real world. It was a great stepping stone into what we would face when leaving university."

"Another PR paper challenged us how to deal with a reputational crisis facing an organisation; the scary stuff. Was it out of my comfort zone? Completely. But I learnt how to deal with the uncomfortable aspects of PR as well."

"Thanks to my lecturers at Waikato, I was given a solid foundation of what the real PR world is like, and I thoroughly enjoyed it."

In her current role at IHS Markit, Abbey says she is responsible for delivering digital PR strategies to enhance the company's global brand reputation. She also leads on digital marketing strategies for Upstream Energy, working with oil and energy experts to ensure industry news and updates are communicated to all stakeholders.

"I work closely with high-level executives across IHS Markit's business lines, ensuring their digital marketing strategies adhere to corporate policies. I have successfully led social policy training across the company's marketing teams and created educational resources on social best practices."