Meet Ilsa Megan Hartley

My Career

Please tell us about your career since graduating:

While undertaking my MA at Newcastle, I was encouraged to run for a role in the Students' Union. I originally applied for Academic Officer, but a friend told me I had the skills to run for President and take that extra responsibility to lead on representation.

I ran an election campaign with a few friends from my MA acting as my 'campaign team', creating posters, t-shirts and stickers, as well as speaking at events on campus. I was successful on our results night and started my role full-time in June 2025. During my undergraduate and MA, I also worked part-time as a singing teacher in a local theatre school, which I feel gave me the skills to communicate effectively. If a 5-year-old can understand your instructions, anyone can! 

Student life at Newcastle

Why did you choose Newcastle University?

I ended up coming through clearing after not achieving the grades I needed, and wanting to swap courses and pick Philosophy, rather than PPE. Newcastle was the closest and I had friends who where going, so it seemed a safe choice!

How did your course and experience at Newcastle University prepare you for your current role?

I was on the Student Staff Committee at Newcastle for all of my time during my undergraduate, which gave me the experience I needed to take minutes, sit in meetings and collect the student opinion on current issues. 

What did you enjoy most about your course?

The amazing people I met, both as staff and students. I always felt supported, always felt like there was somebody to talk to, whether that be about academic things or wellbeing things, or just catching up on life. The specialism in continental philosophy was also fantastic, and something you don't get on the average UK course in philosophy.

How did your undergraduate degree influence your decision to pursue postgraduate education?

A specific module in my second year of university helped me decide on what I wanted to do after graduating, called Consciousness, Art and Technology.

In it, we had a few lectures on the Surrealist movement, and I ended up writing my Stage 2 research project about women in the Surrealist movement. I knew I wanted to go into something involving art, but with something that used my Philosophy experience, and Curating Art seemed liked the perfect fit for me, allowing me to use my art knowledge as well as the skills I learnt in Philosophy.

My tutor Dan was the most supportive person ever throughout my time at university and he supported me through writing my Stage 3 project as well as supporting me to apply to my MA course.

Are there any specific skills or unique perspectives you gained during your undergraduate degree that you found useful at postgraduate level?

Thinking critically is the biggest thing – I often said that I was doing a professional degree in arguing when people asked me what studying Philosophy was actually like. Being able to formulate arguments and understanding really complicated texts was a huge skill I developed.  

I definitely feel that it I gained a unique perspective, but I can't quite say how. I think I'm always questioning the 'why' behind decisions, whether that be government legislation I'm researching for my role, or in statements made in meetings. Even in my day-to-day I question the why, and how we've come to know what we know and what that means.  

What advice would you give to students starting to explore the next steps after graduating?

Be patient with yourself! Not everything will fall into place straight away, but there's no rush to be perfect straight away.

How has your degree helped you outside of your job, in your personal life or other pursuits?

Honestly being able to think critically about everything that I do and read, in terms of the news and things provided to me in my job. Everything is given to us with bias, whether intentional or not, and a degree in Philosophy has helped me to read between the lines, and argue my opinion successfully.