Award-winning broadcaster John Suchet has urged students from Northampton College to “trust your instincts and follow your heart” as they prepare to enter the working world.
The former ITN newsreader was talking to 100 journalism, health and social care, music and construction students at the College’s Booth Lane campus, alongside his wife Nula.
He took the students through his stellar career, starting out as a correspondent for Reuters and then going on to work for the BBC and ITN. He currently works in radio for Classic FM, embracing his passion for classical music.
John revealed he had been inspired to become a journalist having watched the building of the Berlin Wall as a young man – and his final overseas work as a reporter was when the wall came down in 1989. He still has a piece of the wall on display at his home in Dartmouth that he collected that day.
He said: “Journalism was the career I had always craved. Initially I was rejected from both the BBC and the ITN graduate schemes but then managed to get a position as a correspondent for Reuters and covered the student riots in Paris in May 1968.
“Advances in technology have transformed the industry. When I first started, we were shooting on film, then it became video and satellite technology beaming pictures directly back so the world could see what was happening.
“Thanks to mobile phones, we are all now camera people, while AI has revolutionised the world and is here to stay. It is no substitute for the human brain and cannot reason but treat it carefully, harness its potential and use it with discretion.”
With students preparing to launch their careers by stepping out of the classroom and into the workplace in the coming months, John gave an engaged audience some words of wisdom gained from a career in front of the camera.
He added: “Trust your instincts. The harder you work, the luckier you get.
“Good advice is to always follow the head because the head is logical. But the best advice is to follow your heart. I always did what my heart told me.”
The visit was organised by curriculum manager for construction Mark Bradshaw.
Bricklaying teacher Pete Black is Nula’s brother-in-law, having previously married Pete’s brother, James.
James died in 2014 from a rare form of dementia. Nula met John in the care home that James was living in as John’s wife, Bonnie, was also in the same care home, in a room two doors down from James. Bonnie was also living with dementia and died in 2015.
John and Nula got together and married in 2016. Both have since written books about losing their loved ones to dementia and now are active dementia campaigners and ambassadors for various charities. Nula also spoke to the students about her experiences of caring for a loved one with dementia.
Mark Bradshaw said: “It was a real honour to welcome someone of John’s stature to Booth Lane and our students will have gained so much from hearing his stories. He is someone who has overcome so much adversity and personal tragedy in his life but his work ethic, kindness and personality shines through.”
For more information about Northampton College visit www.northamptoncollege.ac.uk
