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I’m a local girl through and through I have lived just under 10 miles away from the office all my life only moving further out 2 ½ years ago when my partner and I brought our own place back in 2020. This is my story of how I went from a hair stylist & beautician in my local salon to Assistant General Manager of Rockingham Forest Park.
Having worked in a hair salon from the age of 14 to become fully trained, after working 2 years fully qualified in the hair & beauty field, I decided I wanted a challenge and to do something different and so I Joined Bray Solutions as a Customer Service administrator ready to learn something new and expand my knowledge in the business world. Kuljit (General Manager) has been my manager from day 1 and with everything we have achieved and our countless memories together, in both Bray and Rockingham Forest Park we are much more than just manager and assistant, she is a true friend.
1 ½ years went by and I completed my NVQ level 2 customer service using the skills I had learned while working in the customer service team and then the enjoyment faded, with the team we had there was nowhere I saw myself growing within the business and as someone who always wants to progress, learn, and expand my knowledge, I wanted to do more. Anyone that knows me knows I am a planner, I love to plan parties, and events for every work event I organise and so I decided why not play to my strength and do an event management course in my spare time. In a frank meeting I had with Kuljit, I told her about the course and my plans to expand my knowledge and try something new, ultimately looking to leave Bray Solutions. The next day I was called into a meeting with Ian the Managing Director, I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t nervous, I’d just told my boss I had done a course in something completely different to my current role, however, I had nothing to worry about instead they asked me about the course, told me they thought it would be good for me to be involved in a new project and offered me a job working on Rockingham Forest Park so back in 2019 the team grew to Ian, Kuljit & myself.
At the start I was still working in customer service processing orders for Bray all while working on Rockingham Forest plans during the working day, I was involved with the designing of the lodges and the whole process from start to finish. During this time the customer service team leader for Bray Solutions went off on maternity leave and so I was made customer service assistant manager while still working on the park plans and then, the park development was put on hold.
While the park plans were on hold, we decided it would be a good time to complete some courses to help my personal development in areas that can benefit both Bray Solutions and Rockingham Forest Park and so I gained various qualifications, Digital Marketing Diploma, Marketing Assistant Diploma, Certified Digital Marketing Professional, Fundamentals of Digital Marketing & Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management. While completing these courses the park production started again and we were busy getting sorted for the first lodges to be delivered. Over time it was evident the work for Rockingham Forest was taking over most of the day and I became full-time Assistant General Manager of the Park and have never looked back.
The team grew again in August 2020 when we employed Richard our Maintenance Manager, and then again when we employed our wonderful receptionists and continued to expand the maintenance team. The lodges started to arrive in June 2020 and after all the hard work at the planning stage it was amazing to see the vision of the park come to life, and everything come together. Then came the job of checking all the lodges and filling them all with everything we need for our customers to have the best stay here with us.
We opened the doors to the public on the 28th of May 2021. I am so proud of all we have achieved and how we continue to maintain the same standard we had when we opened the park over 2 years ago. It’s been a journey, we have learnt a lot, but I wouldn’t do anything differently, the amazing friends I have made working here, some have moved on, but I am forever grateful for them, I have learnt so much and continue to learn every day about the industry as well as growing as a manager with the guidance of Kuljit and Ian daily as we continue to develop the park from strength to strength. I have recently completed my Sage 50 accounts qualification and to think about where I started to where I am now, I am immensely proud of whom I have become and what I have achieved and can only hope to progress more in my future, who knows maybe in 10 years time I will be an astronaut!
Aim High.
Work Hard.
Dream Big.
And don’t forget.
Believe in yourself, ALWAYS.
To Ian and Kuljit, I’d like to say a huge thank you for the opportunity you have given me, and above all else believing in me when I didn’t always believe in myself!
Written by Emily Stuart.
