Released On 08 August 2023
Meet Our Summer Intern: Owen King
Over the summer months, the WorkLife Central team works fewer hours than usual to spend time with our children during the school holidays. To help support our day to day business, we are delighted to welcome undergraduate Owen King back to WorkLife Central for a second summer. In our latest 'Meet the WLC Team' interview, we learn about Owen, his studies, outside interests and hear how he keeps himself fit and healthy.
WLC: Owen, you’re a university student at the moment, where are you studying and for what degree? Tell us about it!
OK: I am going into my final year at the University of Manchester, studying Economics and Philosophy. I love trying to understand how and why things work the way they do, so I am appreciative of learning about the models which represent our economy, and the confounding theories that drive human behaviour and thought. For me these concepts are some of the hardest to understand, but their complexity makes them extremely interesting. I hope to finish my degree next year with a first-class honours. Whilst it could be the end of my official education, I don’t think I will ever stop reading about these topics.
WLC: What kind of tasks are you helping the WLC team with over the summer?
OK: I am completing a range of projects for all areas of the company. For the written content, media, and marketing team, I aim to help Anna, Vicky and Hannah by tidying up the website, producing weekly newsletters and daily social media posts, and making suitable edits to the website content. I am also helping Louisa and Christy with some CRM related tasks, including improving brand outreach, maintenance of communications and analytics. I find each task different and interesting, however, if I had to pick my favourite, I would say that the creative element to the newsletters and social media posts make the task extremely enjoyable.
For me, the services which WLC provides are inspiring, WLC provides a helping hand to all people in all aspects of life. Long story short, my work feels extremely purposeful, and I get a huge amount of enjoyment from that.
WLC: Do you know what you might like to do when you leave university?
OK: For a long time I wanted to enter the world of finance, but more recently I’ve grown to enjoy marketing and communications. As of now I’ve not got everything mapped out, but whilst I am still studying, I am focused on laying the foundations to set my future self up.
WLC: What do you like to do outside of work and studying?
OK: If I am not studying or working there is a high chance I am sleeping, eating, or reading. However, something I really enjoy is playing football. I play as a wing back in an 11-a side team in the university campus league but have also been adopted into the University Tamil Society 5-aside team. I’ll play with friends, family, strangers and to be honest I’m even happy juggling a ball on my own. If there is a ball at my feet, I can entertain myself for hours.
WLC: How do you stay fit and healthy?
OK: I think being healthy and staying fit is the most important thing in life, so a lot of my time revolves around it. Beyond leisure activities such as swimming or football, I try to get into the gym five times a week and walk almost everywhere. Perhaps surprisingly though, it’s inactivity which I put most emphasis on. I prioritise sleeping eight hours a night above all due to its huge impact on cardiovascular health, sporting performance, dietary regulation, immunity, appearance, and memory. I believe sleep is the biggest controllable determinant of my physical and mental health, getting enough of it is like supercharging my workouts, my mood, and my cognitive ability.
WLC: Tell us something surprising about you
OK: I really love animals, and I have seen all eight species of bear and all four great apes.