Kim Tran completed a two-week placement at Marie Claire during her course and leaves with first class honours
Date: July 28 2026
For some students, stopping one course and starting another at an entirely different university would be too intimidating. But not for Kim Tran.
Kim spent two years at one institution before realising she was not enjoying it or achieving her full potential so she applied to London Metropolitan University through Clearing.
She was interested by the creative modules on the Fashion Marketing and Journalism course and the opportunity to study her two passions together.
Three years on from that decision, she has graduated with her peers in the School of Computing and Digital Media (SCDM) with flying colours, earning a First in her degree.
'Great teachers' and a diverse classroom
She was keen to praise her teachers for all their help. She said: “Our teachers and lecturers we have had since first year have been great, which I really liked, and I feel really close with them, so that was a really nice aspect.”
The element of life at London Met that Kim enjoyed the most was meeting and bonding with her classmates – whom she credits with keeping her going during difficult moments.
“We were similar ages, but from different backgrounds. It was just nice to be along with them whilst we were learning and going on this new journey together.”
Growing up watching the popular sitcom Ugly Betty, Kim had always dreamed of working for a large publication. This was an ambition she was able to achieve thanks to her course.
Kim undertook a two-week work placement at Marie Claire through the London Met Journalism Diversity Network – an experience she relished.
She said: “I had a really great time. The people there were really nice. It was cool writing up my own article and then working in the professional collaborative team, and it looks great on my CV.
“It definitely gave me more insight into what I enjoyed. And it made me feel like I really wanted to do something even more creative and more hands-on for work.”
Shining a spotlight on Southeast Asian communities
While she was born in Cambridge, Kim wanted to find a way to connect with her Vietnamese background through her dissertation. She created her own online magazine focusing on Southeast Asian lifestyle entrepreneurs, fashion and cooking.
“London's so diverse and big, but I feel the Southeast Asian community doesn't get enough representation. We're all living in this one city, but we all live different lives,” she added.
“I decided to do a print magazine based on the Southeast Asian community in London because I thought it would be cool to highlight and represent them.”
Kim has also written a number of articles for Whytt Magazine, a luxury lifestyle publication, on under-represented designers and brands, highlighting Vietnamese brands and fashion students across London.
Life after graduation
After graduating, Kim wants to move into a career in social media or content creation – but she said her biggest priority is working in a creative environment.
“I want to keep creating more than consuming because I feel like these days people consume a lot, and I just want to be in an environment where I can work freely and collaborate with people that are like-minded to me.
“I think I'd really enjoy that, so that's why I like social media because you can constantly make new things.”
Kim was joined at the ceremony by her mother Trang Nguyen, her father Linh Duy Tran, and her sister May Tran