Q&A with former UoN student–turned-business blogger, Sarah Elechi

We recently caught up with one of our Accounting and Finance graduates, Sarah Elechi, who is currently flying high in the world of Fintech and has recently started her own business and lifestyle blog; A Piece of Sarah...

Hi Sarah, tell us a little bit about yourself…

I’m Sarah Elechi, I graduated from the University of Northampton in July 2017 with a 1st class degree in Accounting and Finance. Currently, I work as a Finance Analyst at a Fintech firm studying for my CIMA qualification and I’m also the founder of apieceofsarah.com a personal development blog with posts relating to career, wellbeing and motivation.

So how did your blog A Piece of Sarah come about?

I started my blog in November 2016 during my final year whilst reading the book “The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter, and How to Make the Most of Them Now” by Dr Meg Jay.  Something in me clicked and I thought why don’t I do something creative and start a blog.

It was originally about photography and then I started writing about topics that I was passionate about and I’ve been blogging ever since. I have posts and infographics on how to stop procrastinating, how to achieve your goals, the power of saying “no”, and a career section on getting a job after graduation. Blogging helped me improve my writing skills and become more creative when completing my assignments.

How did you find your time at UoN?

Overall, university was amazing for me, I grew as a person, became independent and made lifelong friends. I found a course I enjoyed which set me on my current career path and I completed a placement year in my field which was one of the best decisions I made at university.  It helped me enhance my practical knowledge of the course, cemented that finance is the right career path for me, made me more focused and helped me secure a grad job less than a month after I graduated. However, university had its challenges, I spent many nights in the library trying to complete assignments and revise for exams throughout my time at uni, especially in second and third year and it was hard.

Do you have any tips for current students?

I realised university is what you make it, there are so many resources at the  University of Northampton, and if properly utilised they will enhance your learning experience such as the employability department, the academic librarians team, lecturers as well as the mentoring partnership scheme. I used all of them, and they helped me so much in getting a job and improving my writing style.

So, what do you hope the future holds for APOS?

In the future, I intend to become a chartered accountant and to take my blog globally. The aim is to have apieceofsarah.com be synonymous with personal development and growth. When you think of wanting to do better for yourself, you will go to apieceofsarah.com

For more information visit our BSc Accounting and Finance course page.