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Amanda McDonald (1991, English)

Amanda is the Associate Director of an Advertising Agency in the Midlands. She has just published her autobiography called ‘The Miracle Lady’.

 

My time at Exeter College was stimulating and enjoyable. I benefited from the knowledge of world-class tutors and my Oxford education led to a fulfilling career, putting my written, creative, and interpretative skills to good use. I haven’t quite found a way of applying my use of ‘Old English’ in my daily life, but who knows, that time may be yet to come…

From a very young age, I have been captivated by words. I was rarely seen without a book in my hands. This love of language never diminished, and my English teachers at school, and at college in Stoke, continued to cultivate this passion. My English Tutor at Sixth Form College was an Exeter College alumnus and encouraged me to apply to his Alma Mater. I was delighted to be awarded a place to read English Literature and Language at Oxford, matriculating in 1991.

After a brief stint as a Press and Publicity Officer in a theatre, I started work in an advertising agency as an Account Handler and progressed through the ranks. I then joined global agency, McCann Erickson and worked on integrated campaigns for a range of clients from UPS (the international courier) to SCS (a sofa company). Part of the joy of advertising for me, was my complete immersion in each client’s business, and over the years I have become an expert in boilers, parcels, sofas, footwear, tyres, airlines, pub chains, grass-roots sport, construction and even food waste!

This culminated in my role as Managing Director of a Midlands-based advertising agency, called Yes Agency. I led on client relationship management and was involved in every area of the business, including strategy development, copywriting and overseeing creative work. I enjoyed my job enormously.

However, in November 2013 I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer which spread to my brain. I was given ‘months to live’ in October 2015. Over time, against the odds, I began to recover. In September 2017 I received the remarkable news that my cancer had gone and that I was ‘considered cured’. In 2020, during Lockdown, I decided to write my autobiography. Five weeks later it was completed (I did say I enjoyed writing!). It is called, The Miracle Lady, a name that was used by the team at my local hospice where I was to spend the last few weeks of my life.

I am now an Associate Director of Yes Agency and still love to write and to use my bizarrely still-functioning brain to solve creative problems. My time at Exeter College was stimulating and enjoyable. I benefited from the knowledge of world-class tutors and my Oxford education led to a fulfilling career, putting my written, creative, and interpretative skills to good use. I haven’t quite found a way of applying my use of ‘Old English’ in my daily life, but who knows, that time may be yet to come.

Amanda’s book, ‘The Miracle Lady’ is available to buy on Etsy, https://etsy.me/30okHvF