MK College out in force to support MK Can event for local food bank

Staff and students from Milton Keynes College Group came together to support the MK Can event on 16^th October at Campbell Park, in support of Milton Keynes Food Bank. Around 100 businesses, 20 schools, 30 churches and faith groups, 50 community organisations and 25 charities from Milton Keynes were all involved with a target of collecting and positioning over 100,000 cans of food along a 10km line through the park. The event was awarded a Guinness World Record for the longest unbroken line of cans of food, with the tins then being collected and taken over to the Food Bank afterwards. 

The College Group and its Brasserie Restaurant sponsored two sections of the 10km course, with staff volunteering on the day to place the donated tins along the course. 93 students from the College’s Public Services courses also helped at the event by carrying the tins to the different sections, marshalling, and showing supporters to their areas of the course. 30 Music students from the College also performed throughout the day to entertain those taking part and 25 Photography students were on hand to photograph the event. 

The College was required to collect 700 cans for the two sections it sponsored, but on the day had far exceeded that number with over 1,800 cans donated by staff and students. All of the cans collected on the day will go to supporting the Food Bank’s service users, with the total of over 100,000 being enough for six months’ worth of food supplies for the communities of Milton Keynes. 

Rebecca Myrie, Head of Community Engagement at the College, commented: “What an incredible event! When the Food Bank approached us earlier this year about the idea of a World Record attempt, we were very excited to take part but we couldn’t have imagined what was achieved today. To see thousands of people from across Milton Keynes come together to support the Food Bank was really amazing.” 

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support we’ve had from colleagues and learners in donating cans for this event. But the highlight has to be the incredible effort we saw from our students on the day. From music students performing to an amazing standard, to our photography students capturing special moments and our Public Services students being so helpful to everyone involved, they really did themselves and the wider College proud. Plus, I hope that the students will have made special memories and gained skills that they will carry with them into their courses and beyond.” 

The feedback from the colleagues and students involved in the event has been overwhelmingly positive. For instance, Mark Davis, Course Team Leader for Public Services at Milton Keynes College, commented: “It was amazing to be part of something so beneficial to the community and a privilege to part of a world record. When it was announced that we had broken the record it took a minute or two to sink in because the total number of cans collected was staggering. The students have said that they feel it was an amazing opportunity and they were proud to be a part of the proceedings. The organisation that went into this event was immense and I would like to say a personal thanks to Louisa and the team at the Food Bank for inviting us to be a part of it”. 

Rachel Glass – Course Team Leader for Photography – and Chris Gascoigne – Photography Lecturer – added: “The whole of the Photography department had a wonderful day at MK Can. All the learners turned up with great enthusiasm and cameras at the ready. They all had a chance to practice their location photography skills while having fun at the event; and they were a credit to the College for their behaviour and professionalism. Plus, the pictures they have taken are superb. The sun was shining on a great day with a Guinness World Record to boot”. 

For more information on the work the College Group does to support our communities, visit Working With The Community – MK College.

Serena Robb, also known as The Isle of CC, studied the BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Performing Arts, followed by the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Music at MK College from 2011 to 2014. We caught up with her to hear how college helped her to pursue her dream career and to find out what she’s been up since we last saw her; from her favourite memories at college to how her tutors supported her in achieving her goals.

Serena’s Story

“Attending MK College definitely helped me creatively. I actually wanted to dance, act and sing, and maybe go to an Academy afterwards. Studying Performing Arts boosted my confidence and I enjoyed being in various theatre shows, from being in the chorus to having main parts. I realised I shined the most whilst singing and I think other people realised this before I did, and encouraged me to pursue this. I think that was one of the reasons that lead to my decision to move on to the music course.

I have lots of good memories of college but I think my three favourites were learning about Foley Art for film and making my own, going on a trip with the music class to watch The Lion King and performing at our final major performance.

When I first went to college I had no desire to go to University. I had it in my head that I wasn’t academic enough to do something like that. I didn’t even know that Music universities existed until my tutors told me. I remember Caroline helping me with my acceptance letter and giving me some really good tips. She helped me showcase who I was, why I should be accepted and most importantly – what made me different.

Thanks to her support, after MK College I went on to study at The British and Irish Modern Music Institute (Brighton Institute). I chose BA (Hons) Professional Musicianship in Vocals and graduated in 2017. Since graduating, I have my thumbs in many music pies. I’m a Solo artist, Radio Host, A director of MK Fringe, Sync Writer and Wordplay Magazine Writer.

While studying at MK College, I was able to get involved in lots of different projects and meet like-minded individuals, some of whom I still speak to. This definitely helped me, as I don’t think you ever stop learning in a creative industry.

My advice to anyone wanting to join the Music industry would be to go to gigs – especially the grassroots ones as you’ll be surprised how many people you meet. Try and network as much as you can and learn from others. If you show a willingness to learn and grow, people will help you.

Try and learn the basics of an instrument, even if it’s just simple chords and the basics of recording software. It does make it that bit easier when approaching a producer and explaining to them what you’d like to do. Research 2-3 different artists/musicians a few steps ahead of you who are doing what you want to do. See where they have performed before, who their target audience is, who has written about them, their radio play etc. It can help you to figure out where to start.

If you want to be a session musician, practice, practice practice – surround yourself with like-minded people and research function work. Function gigging might not feel like the best thing in the world, but it helps you think on your feet and learn songs in a short time frame. Once you’ve done this for a while you can start approaching networks such as GO2 Entertainment and Alive Network.

I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of camaraderie,  especially with indie labels. At the end of the day, we are all in the same boat and helping one another, which I believe is important. Don’t be afraid to ask for help too, I’m a bit introverted at times but sometimes don’t overthink it – just go for it, otherwise, you’ll never know.”

We’ve loved hearing about Serena’s journey since leaving MK College and can’t wait to see where she goes from here. If you want to check her out for yourself, follow her on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, as well as YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music.

Want to study Music or Performing Arts? Check out our range of Creative Arts courses and turn your passion into a career.

Daniel Allison is partway through studying Music Performance here at the College, and has been reflecting on his experience from this year, and how learning in lockdown has inspired him to learn new skills and even new instruments.

With a long running passion for music, and a year of playing the drums under his belt, Daniel was inspired to learn more about playing his instrument live, and saw that studying at MK College would give him the opportunity to do just that, and more.

“My experience with the course has been great. It has given me both challenges and opportunities, and I’ve met a lot of like-minded people who have since become close friends”, said Daniel. “Within two months of being on the course, we had the chance to perform live at the college, We had six weeks to prepare to perform three songs of our choosing. It was a great experience and it taught me a lot about music performance.”

So far, being at college has taught me performance skills, production skills, songwriting skills and how to work efficiently in a team, which is essential as I’d love to perform in a band professionally one day.”

“My dream job would be to perform on live tours, festivals and shows with a band.”

Since joining the college and during lockdown, Daniel has furthered his skills and taught himself how to play the piano, the ukulele and bass.

“After college, I plan to use my qualifications and everything that I have learned to go onto a music university and try to play some shows on the side as a hobby. I have my eyes set on Brighton for the music scene there! After university, my absolute dream job would be to perform on live tours, festivals and shows with a band.”

You can hear some of Daniel’s music over on his Instagram page.