Placement with BITC involved Nathan shadowing the work of Melanie Doherty, HR Executive. Over the two years of placement with BITC he became involved in a range of projects under three main areas: Human Resources, Communications and Finance.

Work assigned ranged from research tasks relevant to report and policy writing to assisting with planning and operational aspects of the many events and conferences coordinated by BITC to support the needs of member organizations. Nathan contributed to the organisational and administration aspects of events management and attended numerous events and conferences throughout Northern Ireland, including, STEM Education events, Workplace 20:20 events across Belfast, Corporate Responsibility assessments at the Northern Ireland Tourism Board and Public Health conferences at Stormont as well as many others. In addition to supporting formal events, Nathan became familiar with the advice offered by BITC to member organizations intending to organise sponsorship for charity events. This led to Nathan attending and supporting several Big Business Bake-Off events, for Red Nose Day, which were hosted at venues throughout Northern Ireland.

Nathan involved in a Mock Interview Day in the Girls’ Model High School, Belfast during his BITC placement. BITC coordinated the participating interview panels with representatives drawn from their membership organizations.

Working with the BITC Human Resources Team provided an opportunity for Nathan to become directly involved in the recruitment process. This valued experience involved him in becoming familiar with the range of policies and procedures required at each stage of the appointment process.

Nathan commented:

"Involving placement students fully in the workplace was part of the culture at BITC. I was quickly involved in contributing to important and relevant tasks. For example, during my first year of placement, I was involved in recruitment interviews and was asked to design interview questions for a given job specification. Feedback given was positive and the irony of the situation was that the resulting appointees were people I ended up working with in my second year of placement. This was an amazing and valuable experience. During my time with BITC I was also able to interact with the graduate students participating in the Graduate Acceleration Programme allowing me to project to my own career interests. My placement experiences became more worthwhile than those offered in the typical office environment as the workload varied between desk-based administration, research tasks, attending events and conferences and visiting member organizations to provide the 'human face' of BITC. Overall, the highly motivated members of staff at BITC made a great and lasting placement experience for me. No wonder I requested to return for a second year of placement!

In general, the placement experience has allowed me to become more aware of my own skills development and has built my confidence level in terms of communication, research, time-management, malleability to handle independent and group projects, the ability to integrate into a team, liaise with business partners and work towards creative and innovative solutions within projects."

Nathan, being presented with the Chengelo Prize by the auxiliary Bishop Anthony Farquhar of Down and Connor, in recognition of his contribution to student life, The Bishop is also a Trustee of St Mary’s University College. The presentation took place during the College's Commencement Ceremony, 2015.

Nathan, with friends from his Liberal Arts year group, at the Colour Fun Run, Belfast Titanic Quarter, in August 2015. These students raised funds for NSPCC in memory of their friend and fellow student, Cara Maguire, who sadly passed away in her final year of study.

At the point of graduating with a first class honours classification in June 2015, Nathan made a successful application to Queen's University Belfast (QUB) to study a Masters in Law (Human Rights and Criminal Justice). Interest in this course related directly to the International Studies and Politics modules he studied at St Mary’s. During his time at QUB, Nathan enjoyed the opportunity to develop his understanding of the political and governmental manifestations surrounding Human Rights, counter-terrorism, and the criminal justice process, particularly in relation to policing, imprisonment and gang culture. Nathan graduated with Commendation in January 2017.

In June 2017, Nathan accepted an internship with Upskill Enterprise Ltd, Belfast (www.upskillenterprise.com). Upskill Enterprise is a bespoke professional service SME which completes research reports for private clients on a range of subjects from impact assessment, effectiveness and current education policies. They have partnership agreements with Laurea University of Applied Science in Finland and Trinity College in Dublin.

Nathan is currently the Human Rights and Criminal Justice Advisor for the company.

Stephen Rice, Managing Director, Upskill Enterprise Ltd. commented:

"Responding to an urgent need for support in pulling together tenders and bids in summer 2017, Joan Campbell, Coordinator for Placement Learning at St Mary's put us in contact with BA Liberal Arts graduate, Nathan Hanley. Our specification was unique due to the nature of work we do. We were looking for an open-minded researcher, willing to learn, who had experience and knowledge of the Criminal Justice and Human Rights field. We did not for a moment think we would get the calibre of individual on placement that we did. Nathan was a Godsend. We did not know how much we needed him until he got here. Now we are doing everything we can to keep him.

The education Nathan has received at St Mary's has stood him in good stead for contributing to the services we offer. Not only are we confident that Nathan is able to deliver the work, but he can deal with our clients directly in an advisory capacity. The culture of our company is that of professionalism mixed with realism and personal development. We want our employees to feel part of the company and ultimately enjoy the work they do. Nathan has fitted into this culture seamlessly and furthermore has ensured that his professionalism is of the highest standard when delivering work and meeting with clients. Sincere thanks to St Mary's for providing the perfect candidate."