Old Elizabethan Max Curtis had some reassuring advice for any sixth-formers stressing about making the right career decisions.
Max (OE 1991–1998), a corporate communications expert, visited the School to speak to a select group of sixth-formers.
Reflecting afterwards on his visit, he recognised that the Sixth Form years were often a difficult time in young people’s academic lives during which they are being asked to “make make seemingly career-defining decisions about their future. Hopefully, I was able to provide some reassurance that you don’t need to have it all ‘sussed out’. In fact, there are advantages to retaining flexibility and taking opportunities as they arise.”
After leaving QE in 1998, Max read Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge and then took his Diploma in Law at City, University of London.
He has forged a 20-year career in internal and external communications and public affairs, with a background that spans UK Government, FTSE 100 companies, consultancy and the not-for-profit sector. He has spent the last five years as Corporate Affairs Director for MTVH, a housing association with 57,000 homes across the country. Previously, he worked in communications for the Department for Transport, and before that, for Tesco. His focus is on getting teams and organisations to work together to achieve their potential.
Max thanked the School for the warm welcome he received: “It was great to be back,” he said. During his visit, he found time to take a look through the 1998 QE Year Book.
Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We were delighted to see Max, and my thanks go to him for speaking to our students about his career.”
For his part, Max encouraged other OEs to follow his lead and get in touch with the Headmaster to arrange similar visits.