Jessica Blaszczyk (she/her), Advancement Officer at the University of Surrey, kickstarted her fundraising career as a face-to-face (F2F) fundraiser during the summer breaks of her university degree. After graduating, Jessica then gained experience within the education sector by teaching English as a foreign language in a school whilst living in Japan for two years.
Today, Jessica combines her interests in her role as Advancement Officer at the University of Surrey. As a recent recipient of the Virginia Carter Smith scholarship, we spoke to her to find out more about her career experience to date and her experience of attending the CASE Europe Annual Conference.
You’ve touched upon your previous experience in fundraising, but what influenced to work in the field of educational advancement specifically?
Having first gained experience in a charity, it’s been enlightening to see the differences between the two sectors since joining the University of Surrey’s External Engagement team in December 2021. I was initially attracted by the wider scope of work at the university. We fundraise for a variety of different research projects, as well as student scholarships and hardship funds, so I felt that I could make a bigger impact. So far, I can confirm that no two days have ever been the same!
What are the duties and responsibilities of your Advancement Officer role at the University of Surrey?
A key component of my role is to support the fantastic work of our academics, I work with them to create compelling cases for support for their cutting-edge research. Currently, I am working on projects that look to research and improve the mental health of children and young people. It is exciting and rewarding to be a part of something so important.
I also assist on the delivery of events, recently I helped co-ordinate an event at the House of Lords, which was something I never would have had the opportunity to do!
What has been your biggest achievement since working at the University of Surrey?
I worked with a brilliant academic to secure funding of £215,000 from an educational foundation to support their research study. The study will look into the use of spatial cognition, assessing the effectiveness of using Lego blocks in children’s maths learning. Being maths literate is a key predictor of success into adulthood so being able to raise this substantial gift has filled me with immense pride for my work, as I know I am helping to support research that will make children’s learning more effective.
How did you hear about the Virginia Carter Smith scholarship and what motivated you to apply?
A colleague in my office had been awarded the scholarship in 2021 and spoke about it with great enthusiasm, so I was intrigued to find out more. After researching, I thought it sounded perfect as I was new to the sector and keen to attend some of CASE’s renowned training, so I discussed it with my manager who supported my application.
You chose to use your scholarship credit to attend CASE Europe’s Annual Conference (CEAC), what interested you in this conference?
As a newbie to educational advancement, I thought CEAC would give the perfect overview to the sector and help me gain insight into how each of the different advancement specialisms fit together. I had also never been to Glasgow before, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore a little of its famous arts and culture scene!
You’ve now had chance to attend CEAC, how did it live up to, or even exceed, your expectations?
I was really looking forward to having the opportunity to build my network with other fundraising colleagues from around the world, and the conference certainly delivered on that! It was great to meet like-minded colleagues who have recently joined the profession, especially from the WFH and hybrid era. It was reassuring to know there is a whole community of people who are also navigating how to work in this new way.
A highlight for me was finding an unofficial mentor during one of the conference's networking sessions. My mentor has recently been promoted to a management position and is confident in soliciting gifts from individual prospects—an area that I am eager to upskill in. We meet informally via Teams, which gives opportunity to speak candidly about our experiences, share tips on what does/doesn't work, and allows me to highlight challenges or areas that I want to be coached on.
What was your most valuable takeaway from CEAC?
Hearing stats from industry leaders about the newest generations of students (Gen Z and Gen A)—39% of this generation have been diagnosed with a mental health problem. My work is largely fundraising for Surrey’s School of Psychology, so this insight has given more direction to my pipeline planning. I’ve started focusing some of my time on cultivating individual prospects with a view to increasing my major donor fundraising outputs.
For more information on the Virginia Carter Smith Scholarship, please see the CASE website.