50 Years of Co-op: Fiona O'Kearney

Tell us a bit about yourself, what course did you study in UL, what has your career looked like to date?

My name is Fiona O’Kearney – I’m French Irish (though I have completely lost the French language since settling in Ireland in 1999). I initially started studying Language, Literature, and Film in French and English in the University of Limerick but after 3 years of struggling to keep up with university-level French I switched into New Media and English.

I studied my BA in New Media and English at the University of Limerick. Since graduating in 2018 my career has been a mixed bag.

My ‘career’ truly began in 2021 when my best friend Sandrine Uwase Ndahiro founded Unapologetic Magazine and asked me to come on as an assistant editor. Since then, we have produced 3 full annual issues of the magazine and one special issue on the Citizenship Referendum of 2003. I was also promoted to co-editor in Chief of the magazine at the end of 2022. Through the magazine I have developed a deep passion for publishing and for creating a platform for creatives to express themselves through art and writing. Beforehand I would have assumed writing was my passion, but I much prefer editing and managing the business of our magazine.

Currently I work full time in the Marketing department of UL Global and then in my spare time work with the magazine. I love both roles equally as I have a passion for international education and love UL, having made a home for myself away from Dublin (which was always too busy for me anyway!). However, mine and Sandrine’s dream is to establish Unapologetic as an internationally recognised magazine and business.

Tell us a bit about your co-op placement, what organisation did you work with and what year it took place?

For my co-op placement I worked in the Fees Office at UL in 2016.  It was a paid position which was mostly administrative and was my first point of contact with office work.

What impact did your co-op placement have on your future career?

The role honestly created a domino effect for my career – it was very easy to get administrative jobs after graduating because of my experience working in an office and doing my co-op placement in UL helped me learn about other student working opportunities around UL – I got a position as Head Guide of the UL Summer School which led to me getting a role as the programme coordinator the following year.

I was always good at the creative side of work – but the Fees Office role helped me learn about the importance of organisation, initiative, and general clerical work. The skills I learned help me stay on top of the ‘boring’ clerical duties involved in running a business – particularly a publishing business with so many moving parts you almost feel dizzy keeping track!

It helped me learn how to use Excel for budgeting, keeping track of magazine submissions and their review stage, and statistical reports. Also understanding the financial side of educational institutions has helped inform my applications for funding for the magazine – understanding how investors and funding agencies decide their award selections.

What piece of advice would you give to students going on co-op now?

Don’t worry so much about getting a role perfectly related to your ideal career. As a broke student with no parental financial support all I cared about was getting a paid position and for the first week or so of my co-op I was worried I had pigeon-holed myself into administrative work for the rest of my life. However, administration is needed in every position, whether you run a magazine, work in marketing, are an academic, or even run a small business – admin is everywhere. Not to mention another valuable lesson learned – that your co-workers make or break the job. I loved my co-workers in the Fees Office and that helped make my co-op experience so much more enjoyable.

I guarantee if you apply yourself in your co-op, the experience you develop will contribute greatly to your future career.