Christopher Dignan BA Modern History and Politics, 1987

Corporate writer and communications consultant

I really enjoyed my degree, especially studying politics, and was lucky to have fantastic tutors.

Studying modern history and politics at Southampton turned out to be an excellent grounding for Christopher Dignan's life as a journalist. "The discipline of the degree really taught me how to focus on the main points of an argument, rather than becoming distracted with detail," he explains. "This has proved invaluable in my journalistic career where it is imperative to distil complex information into its main elements, in a clear and concise form."

After graduating in 1987, he worked as a journalist for 13 years, starting as a trainee on the Bucks Free Press , where he rose to become chief reporter and news editor then, via spells on the Derby Evening Telegraph and Oxford Mail , to a job on the Sunday Times . Christopher won the UK Reporter of the Year Award (Regional Newspapers) in 1997 and the Novartis UK Health Writer of the Year Award in the same year He changed career in 2001 to become PR manager for a City law firm and spent the next ten years in similar roles.

Christopher started his own company Bizword in Oxfordshire in 2007 and now works as a corporate writer and communications consultant, advising large professional services and corporate organisations.

Looking back at his time at University, Christopher says: "I thoroughly enjoyed my degree, especially studying politics, and was lucky to have fantastic tutors, who taught me how to think objectively and how to develop cohesive and logical arguments. I also played in the men's field hockey teams for the first year and a half which was great. I made friends with many people and learned a lot from them as well. I'm still in touch with some of them today."