Former East Durham College student Suzi Martin has gone on to take over the airwaves in the north east since leaving college, helping people wake up and get through their morning commutes across the region.
Suzi, 28, from Hartlepool, is a producer on the Heart North East Breakfast show but it hasn’t been an easy ride to get to her dream job.
The former High Tunstall Comprehensive student joined East Durham College in 2004. She had a huge interest in media but wasn’t sure in what area her future lay.
Suzi praised her time at the College as giving her the opportunity to develop the early skills to get her to where she is today.
Suzi said: “I have always had an interest in media and was unsure as to which area I wanted to work in.
“East Durham College had great flexibility and opportunities to develop my skills in a variety of mediums.
“I was also able to attend work placements and experience real on-the-job training, which is vital when wanting to work in the media industry.”
And it was the qualities of the staff that were able to help Suzi learn and improve her early media skills.
Suzi added: “The staff at East Durham College were amazing.
“They helped to guide and hone in on my strengths and help improve my weaker skills. The staff were always there to lend a helping hand and challenged knowledge and skills to help me improve.”
After college Suzi went on to do work experience in hospital radio, were she developed a passion for the medium. From there she progressed to larger and more established radio stations, working in varying roles and often working for free just for the experience. Eventually, after many years, she has reached her dream job as a breakfast show producer.
Suzi said: “These is my dream job, I absolutely love it.
“Every day is different, it fast paced and exciting and you never know what’s going to come next. You get to meet lots of fascinating people and celebrities, and I get the opportunity to let my imagination run wild.
“We get to entertain the North East every morning and it makes getting up at 3am worth it!”
“I hope to continue working in my current role for the foreseeable future, growing and improving our listener figures and to become the north east’s number one breakfast show.”
And to cap it off, Suzi works as a lecturer at East Durham College, helping to train the next generation of budding broadcasters and producers. Following Heart FM networking its breakfast show nationally, Suzi now also works part time as a continuity announcer for Channel 4 TV and as a presenter on Sun FM.
