Administrator
Cambridge Regional College

Parveen A

00.01 My name is Parveen A and I am an administrator at Cambridge Regional College. My job involves general administrative tasks including filing, telephone calls, dealing with customers, generally looking after files, data entry, that’s it really.

00.21 Whilst I was at school, I wasn’t very interested in any of the compulsory subjects. I liked it when we got to Year 10 and we were able to choose more interesting subjects such as social sciences. I found it very interesting to talk about the world in different perspectives and things like that, and I had two very amazing teachers who I looked up to and who were very helpful and that’s when I really kick started in learning. I really wanted to learn and progress because they made me want to do that. I don’t know, they just inspired you to want to progress and really do something with your life and achieve their full potential.

01.09 I really enjoyed sociology, like I said. My teachers were great so I went on to university to continue in that field. I did a degree, a BA combined honours in sociology and law. Going to university was very interesting. I commuted so I don’t think I got the full experience like other people did who were living at halls on the uni campus. They usually just partied and I didn’t. I studied and then went home. So it wasn’t as fun as it could’ve been, I think.

01.48 The only reason I commuted was down to my parents, because they didn’t want me to go very far. If I had my own choice, I would’ve gone to Nottingham Trent to do law there, which I was accepted in as well. But just due to my parents and religion I decided to stay closer to home. Ultimately, I think, my parents have pushed me in the right direction because I would have settled for less and not achieved as much as I have. I wouldn’t have gone and got a degree and things like that without my parents steering me in the right direction.

02.25 I know we all grow up thinking, you know, that they’re always saying the wrong thing or they’re not helping or they’re against us, but ultimately, you do turn around and say, ‘they were right at the end of the day. They were right in doing what they did’.

02.43 After having an arranged marriage during university, I decided that actually law wasn’t my first priority and that I needed to do what I needed to do to get on and have a family of my own. So decided that, you know, at the moment an admin job is good for me and I’m making the most of that. A lot of people recognise how good I am and how bubbly I am and things like that, and I’m quite happy and secure in that. It’s not just an admin job like people say it is. It’s much more than that. You can make it much more than what it is.

03.25 I don’t have a lot of hobbies but I really like to go shopping, seeing my friends, going out, watching movies, I like listening to music, over a whole range of music from cheesy pop to, you know, R&B, hip hop and even music from my own culture.

03.47 In five years I would like to be doing something within law. Hopefully I will have done the legal practising course which is what I originally wanted to do before I went into admin. So maybe practice as a solicitor or do some paralegal stuff.