Alumna Joanne hails University’s confidence-boosting help

Huddersfield Business School graduate Joanne Charlton says the confidence she gained during her studies and on placement at the University helped her to become a campaigner for a leading UK charity helping people with facial differences.

Joanne was born with a cleft nose, and like many people with facial differences she has suffered from intolerance and bullying but the help she received from academic staff, support staff and placement colleagues saw Joanne, in her own words, “come out of her shell”.

Having achieved a 1:1 in Business and Marketing, Joanne stayed at Huddersfield and went straight into a Master’s in Digital Marketing. Building on her positive experience at the University, she is now juggling her role as a campaigner for the Changing Faces charity as well as working as a Marketing Executive at the Medical Protection Society.

“My placement in the Business School’s marketing team helped my confidence grow, enhanced my marketing skills and my grades improved significantly when I returned to my final year,” says Joanne, who continued to work part-time for the Business School in her fourth year and during her Master’s.

“My placement completely changed me. Prior to my placement year, I was quite quiet and shy however my placement year really made me come out of my shell and built my confidence.

"Giving tours on open days, doing some public speaking and leading on events pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me feel like I could do anything. These were things that would have made me anxious before, mainly because of my facial difference. 

“Harriet Lockwood, my line manager, was fantastic in pushing me to reach my full potential while giving me the best support possible. Other colleagues in the team also gave me opportunities to expand on my skills by allowing me to get involved in various projects, making me into a bit of an all-rounder.”

“I had some personal issues in my final year, where I required a bit of extra support to finish my degree. The Business School's student support and guidance team were amazing in helping me to get through it by granting me extensions to complete my work to the best of my ability.”

Changing perceptions of how facial differences are represented

Joanne channelled her passion to change perceptions on people with facial differences into a final year project on her undergraduate degree, and then in her Master’s research project, ‘An Analysis of the Representation of Facial Differences in Social Media Marketing on Consumer Behaviour’.

Joanne adds, “I analysed social media engagement on brands' posts featuring models with facial differences against engagement on the same brands' posts but without models with facial differences. The results were that audiences respond positively toward inclusive marketing, so more brands should use models with facial differences to help reduce stigma and normalise diverse looking people.”

Having benefited from the support and advice of Changing Faces throughout her life, Joanne wanted to help them in their mission for everyone with a visible difference to be accepted and respected.

“When I completed an assignment in my final year about changing perceptions on visible differences through advertising, I used Changing Faces’ statistics, data and resources. I received a high grade, so I sent it to the charity as a ‘thank you’, and they asked me to share my story on their website. 

“When I finished my Master's and I saw that there was an opportunity to be a campaigner for Changing Faces, I jumped at it. I wanted to give back to a charity that means a lot to me and to use my experiences to help others who have been through similar struggles. I was keen to show others with a facial difference that it does get better, and having a visible difference will not hold you back from reaching your full potential.”