BSMS > About BSMS > BSMS20 > Staff spotlight > Staff spotlight: Matt Bemment

Staff spotlight: Matt Bemment

A man wearing a graduation outfit in front of the west pier in Brighton

Meet Matt Bemment, Digital Communications Officer.

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I am (proudly) from Lowestoft in Suffolk, the most easterly point in the UK. I am the eldest of three, play the accordion in my spare time, enjoy watching both Worthing Football Club and Worthing Thunder (basketball) anytime I can, and I am obsessed with anything pineapple themed.

I went to the University of Lincoln to study English Literature and Media, Culture and Communications before embarking on a career that’s taken me from a publishing agency in Norwich, where I edited magazines for Rolls-Royce, the Whisky Shop and the British Automobile Racing Club, to London where I did social media and marketing for a private members club in Covent Garden, to BSMS, where I’ve been for nearly seven years now.

What brought you to BSMS?

Although I enjoyed living in London, I missed being close to the seaside. My partner grew up in nearby Newhaven and we found ourselves spending more time in Brighton seeing friends and family than we did in London. So, when I saw the job opportunity at BSMS and to move to Brighton, I didn’t hesitate in applying. My mum was a nurse and my dad was a social worker who specialised in health, so it was probably evitable that I ended up in healthcare in some guise. From the minute I walked into my interview, I knew it was where I wanted to work.

Could you tell us a little bit more about your role?

I joined BSMS as a Comms Assistant and am now Digital Comms Officer, although the two roles cover the same things really. My main roles include overseeing the BSMS website, social media platforms, internal communications and creating videos for the medical school. I also enjoy teaching medical students on a student-selected component (SSC) on social media in healthcare. Other colleagues might disagree, but I think I have the best job at BSMS – I get to work with every team and department more than most can, supporting some amazing people doing truly brilliant things, whilst never having two days that are the same.

What's your favourite memory from your time at BSMS?

Graduation is always a special occasion and make up some of my fondest memories so far – the energy and emotion in the room is always so evident from both the students who are graduating and the staff who’ve contributed so much to that moment.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

What is your biggest professional achievement?

I did a master’s alongside my role from 2018-2020 at the University of Sussex – completing that alongside a full-time job is going to be hard to beat in terms of achievements. I really enjoyed being a student again and didn’t fully appreciate achieving this until I got to walk across the stage at my graduation ceremony.

Who has inspired you most in life?

My grandad. He had the unique gift of treating everyone he met in the same manner and taught me so many things when it came to talking to people from all walks of life. He didn’t work in communications and probably wouldn’t understand what my job title meant if he was still here, but I have no doubt that the reason my job is to communicate with people is the result of spending so much time with him during my childhood.

Describe BSMS in three words.

Unique. Stimulating. Special.

What’s the best piece of advice you would give your younger self?

Don’t worry about what people think when you walk into a room, only when you leave it. First impressions don’t mean as much as lasting ones.