fully grown

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Bath Spa publishing student helps others become ‘fully grown’

Have you ever had a moment when you needed an adult to help you figure something out, and then realised - you were the adult? For third year Journalism and Publishing student Hannah Shergold, this experience became the basis for starting her own website.

fully grown, which launched in November 2020, provides content aimed at helping young people navigate the often difficult and confusing path to adulthood. Articles cover a range of topics, from booking an appointment with a GP to figuring out what to make for breakfast. Hannah said the initial idea grew out of her own frustration at not having learned important life skills at an earlier age, and seeing her peers struggle with basics such as using public transport and doing laundry.

“I was lucky in a way, because I gained a lot of skills from growing up in a lone-parent environment, but my peers were not as lucky,” she said. Realising there was an obvious gap between what young people “should” know and what they were actually taught, she created fully grown to bridge that gap.

Explaining the site’s ethos, Hannah said: “I want readers to know that there’s never a silly question to ask. Life skills are completely subjective and differ between each person, and what might be essential to some might not be to others.” 

Through the site, she plans to cover a wide range of skills so young people from all cultural upbringings, education settings and lifestyles can find something they can learn.

Hannah manages the site along with her small team of fellow Bath Spa University Journalism and Publishing students Jessica Anderson, Gwen Jones and Ffion Hughes. New content is produced by the team, as well as other freelance writers. 

Hannah supports the project by working part-time on top of her studies, and says it’s important to ensure the site provides informative content for free to its users. “Helping others achieve their potential and giving them the opportunity to learn and grow in a constructive, engaging and supportive environment is hugely inspiring to me,” she said. “And I love anything to do with fully grown, so it doesn’t really feel like work!”

She also credits the experience she’s gained on her course at Bath Spa for helping her in different ways. She said: “The journalism module of my degree gave me confidence in writing and developed my tone and writing style. The Publishing side opened my eyes to a different career path that I am really passionate about. I was able to utilise a creative side I didn’t realise I had.”

When asked about any advice she might have for other potential writer-publishers, Hannah offers straightforward wisdom:

“Don’t try to do everything on your own; ensure you create a social circle around you for support and advice, because you’ll need them more than you think. Things don’t have to be perfect to start with. Your brand and brand identity will develop as you grow, so put your idea into the world!”