Work

This section outlines my professional journey across media, communications, and public service roles. Each opportunity has allowed me to grow creatively, expand my network, and refine my skill set. What follows is a timeline of experiences that have shaped my career with purpose and passion.

Crew Member at McDonald’s – (Jul 14 to Dec 14) & (Apr 15 to Dec 15) Part-Time

My very first working experience started when I was just 16. I do not remember how exactly I landed the job or the amount of searching I did; however, I needed a summer job to start being financially independent. The McDonald’s Baystreet establishment was one of the busiest fast-food restaurants in the chain at that time. I was mostly responsible for making sure the lobby area was nice and tidy. From time to time, I was also given shifts to take care of the fries section and also as a salesperson.

Support Staff (Opening Ceremony Floor Manager) – (Oct 15 to Dec 15) Contract

This was a short gig, but it shaped my love for live events. Together with a team of dedicated people, we took care of the opening ceremony of CHOGM at MCC in Valletta. Directing singers and performers, most notably Joseph Calleja, and making sure of a seamless event from start to finish. This was also one of the first events in which,h during my free time, I took photos to experiment.

Guest Service Attendant at Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, now known as Marriott Malta – (Jul 16 to Jul 17) Part-Time

This was also a summer job that I did. Even though the McDonald’s experience had taught me a lot about hard work and working in a team, I was looking into moving into a less busy environment. That is when I managed to get the position as a Guest Service Attendant at Le Meridien. I took care of serving refreshment drinks upon guest arrivals and also luggage service up to rooms whenever needed. I also made sure that the reception area was kept spotless and also served as an information point in the concierge’s absence.

Given the fact that I had also accepted to take on an Erasmus+ experience in Germany, which started in winter later that year, I decided to keep the job for any shifts I could take whenever in Malta. I did take on some shifts during the Christmas period and then also when I eventually came back from Erasmus+ in February. The hotel had then eventually informed us that Starwood hotels and restaurants were bought by Marriott International, therefore the hotel had to undertake a refurbishment and that for a short while we would need to find something else to do. That is when I eventually decided to leave for something more stable.

Sales Assistant at Lidl Malta – (Jul 17 to Aug 17) Part-Time

As can be understood, this was a very short experience. Ultimately, when a job is not for you, it’s not for you. I had worked as a sales assistant at the Hamrun outlet. To be very honest, I had started off quite well. As a sales assistant, I had learned all the codes of different items in the shop and was managing queues quite well. However, it was a very repetitive job, and at times, it got extremely busy. Apart from being a salesperson, I was also assigned to do night shifts to set up the shop ready for the next day. Even though I was fairly built and able to do it, it had ultimately caused me a lot of back pain, and I became super tired at the end of each night shift. That is when I decided that I would leave the job for something better. I eventually found the Call Centre job at Ecabs.

Call Centre Operator at Ecabs – (Jul 17 to Oct 19) Part-Time

As a call centre operator, I was responsible for entering call bookings into the system for them to be actioned and eventually assigned to a driver. I also usually manned two mini-offices that the company had. One at the very bottom of the Paceville stairs, which used to get very busy and challenging on a Saturday evening, and the other one at Triq Santu Wisti,n both in St Julians. I had learned a lot about customer satisfaction and liked the job because we used to be a nice bunch, and the working conditions were quite good as well.

Freelance Media Service Provider – (Apr 18 to Nov 18) Part-Time

Since I had been receiving several bookings for my small photography gig that I used to do, I eventually decided to apply for a VAT number and start as a part-time self-employed individual. It was a new world of business, and I mostly did it as a passion project. Summer was a fantastic few months of bookings as I was establishing my name in the industry, mostly doing evening, party gigs. When winter eventually came around, bookings died down, and for some reason, I had decided to close down my VAT number.

Communications Officer at Malta Business Registry (MBR) – (Jul 19 to Sep 19) Part-Time

This was a summer internship opportunity that I had applied for while also working for Ecabs. MBR had just separated from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and was still establishing itself as an entity. Together with the communications team, we opened up its social media channels, including Facebook and Instagram, created a social media plan, posted frequently, and also created an in-house production to explain further to people on how to register a company in Malta. To this day, both the social media pages and the videos are still used.

Camera Operator at ONE Ltd – (Sep 18 to May 20) Part-Time

Given my love for media, I had always wanted to explore the world of television. An opening had just opened up at ONE Productions, and I decided to apply. I was eventually accepted, and within a span of a few short weeks of training, I started. The experience was a fantastic one, having the opportunity to be the camera person for a number of well-known programmes in Malta. For some reason, my favourite programme that I used to do was a sport-related one on a Sunday afternoon. Eventually, when COVID-19 came around, as a part-timer, my work reduced drastically, and that is when I eventually decided to leave the post.

Student Lab Attendant at University of Malta – (Oct 19 to Feb 20) Part-Time

Given my love for IT, this was a small part-time job that I had taken up at the University of Malta, aiding students in whatever IT-related problems they had in the main study area at the ITC Faculty. Since in between lectures, I usually didn’t have enough time to go off campus, I did a few hours from time to time at ICT’s faculty. Most times, students did not have any problems, and I used to use this time to study.

Radio Host at 89.7Bay – (Jul 19 to Jan 20) Part-Time

I had heard a radio advert requesting radio hosts way back in 2018. My friends and family had always told me that I had the voice for it, and I eventually applied. Then, at the beginning of 2019, I received a call to go in for a meeting and voice test. Both were very much a success, and eventually started training. I did around 2 months of training, going from week to week to learn more about how to speak about content, voice projection, and the programme’s use, amongst other things.

Eventually, I went live in July. I was shaky during the first few shows, but eventually got the hang of it as time went by. One of the main things that Bay had told me was that as a station, you have to be non-politically aligned as much as possible, since it’s a neutral station, to which I agree. However, as time went by, this unfortunately slipped my mind, and had posted something on my social media that I shouldn’t have. This was eventually flagged up by my then-manager, and I was eventually let go. To this day, I still regret what I did.

Social Media Personality at Yobetit now known as Kanon Gaming – (Dec 19 to Jun 20) Part-Time

This job mainly came from the fact that everyone spoke about Igaming and how good these jobs are. So, since I was studying Communications at University, I looked into Igaming communications jobs. That is when I eventually stumbled upon the social media personality job at YoBetIt. The iGaming world was very much new to me, and I had a lot to learn. I worked and monitored social media for the companies’ main product portfolios, including betting, lottery, and casino, while coordinating closely with the campaigns’ specialist on adverts.

Yobetit had several graphic designers whom I frequently used to create my graphical posts for socials as well. I then monitored closely the SEO performance of all social media posts and adverts and continued adjusting the strategy accordingly. Things were going very well until I had to resign due to a major internal issue between the management and marketing manager. The company had offered me to stay; however, I took the hard decision to leave. I will always be grateful for the experience and opportunity they offered me.

Freelance Media Service Provider – (Jul 20 to Feb 23) Part Time and then Full Time

After my very short freelance experience, I eventually decided to reopen my business. This time round, I also got the help of an accountant who still aids me in my tax forms to this very day. Over almost 3 years, given that it was a part-time business, the business went very well, and I had numerous public and private clients. Eventually, I went full-time given the number of clients. I could have onboarded more clients and gotten people onboard to take on the extra workload; however, especially in the media industry, it’s very hard to trust people to do a good job for you, and that is why I did not want to grow too much beyond what I could handle

Eventually, my freelancing led me to an opportunity which I couldn’t refuse, and I had to stop my freelancing once again in February of 2023 due to a full-time opportunity with the European Parliament (EP), which did not allow me to continue freelancing.

Marshal at Khiron Security – (Aug 20 to Sep 20) Contract

This was a very small gig where I was a marshal for the Jurassic World movie filming in Malta. I was responsible in making sure that people from a specific building did not come out of their homes whenever filming would be happening on the streets of Valletta. It was exciting to be on the film set as I was surrounded by people from the film industry, to whom I have major respect.

Local Assistant at European Parliament (Malta) – (Dec 20 to Oct 23) Part Time and then Full Time

It’s an interesting story how I ended up at this job. Back in 2018, through the freelance media work that I was doing, I was given a photography gig opportunity in Hamrun to an EP candidate named Cyrus Engerer. We eventually sat down for a meeting a few days after, inquiring about my photography and availability to cover the campaign, to which I had accepted since I was looking into onboarding more clients. Eventually, I had covered his campaign for the 2019 EP elections. Unfortunately, however, he was not elected. Eventually, in 2020, the news came that Hon Miriam Dalli had resigned from the EP to come back to Malta, and when boxes were once again opened and a recount happened, he was eventually elected.

He then offered me the position as a local assistant to take care of media-related efforts such as photography and videography to which I accepted. My role further expanded in taking care of his offices in Malta when I was offered the full-time role. Eventually, a full-time role at the EP in Brussels became available, and I took that opportunity as well.

Digital Communications Advisor at the Ministry within the Office of the Prime Minister – (Nov 20 to Nov 21) Contract

During my search for clients, I managed to onboard Hon Carmelo Abela in aiding the ministry to expand its social media presence. I worked closely with the communications officer on content, and also with third parties on marketing projects to make people more aware of the work being done by the ministry itself. I was also doing most photography work, which was later used on social. We worked as a very good team and did excellent work; however, I had to eventually stop due to my studies taking priority at that time.

Marketing Trainee at the Ministry for Transport Infrastructure and Capital Projects – (Jun 21 to Oct 21) Part Time

This was also another summer job that I had taken up in line with what I was studying at that time. Together with people from the office, we created marketing content for the People Management Division (PMD) and also aided the assistant manager in day-to-day tasks in whatever was needed.

Radio Host at 89.7Bay – (Jun 21 to Sep 23) Part Time

My love of radio had never died. I was devastated by what had happened in the past, and I had looked for a way back. I strongly believed that the differences that me and Bay had, could be put aside. The manager who had removed me for some reason was removed, and a new manager was put in place. I had emailed inquiring about a meeting to which was accepted. After a lengthy meeting discussing what had gone wrong the last time round, we managed to agree on a way forward, and I eventually started training. I eventually re-joined the radio hosts’ lineup for the summer schedule. During this working experience, I was also part of some exciting projects, helping the station to realise a long dream of having a 24/7 schedule. I kept presenting until September of 2023. This was when I took the opportunity to work with the EP in Brussels and had to unfortunately stop.

Accredited Parliamentary Assistant (APA) at European Parliament (Sep 23 to Jul 24) Full Time

After finishing my experience as a full-time Local Assistant, I was offered the opportunity of a full-time position in Brussels. I was really indecisive at first about what I should do. Eventually, I accepted the offer and left Malta to work in Belgium. It was a massive step as it would be the first time living abroad after my Erasmus+ experience in Germany, not only for studying but also to work. As an APA to MEP Engerer, I took care of the media, administrative work, and events.

This included getting Maltese groups to the EP to learn and understand more on how it works, administrating the ‘Walk with a progressive’ initiative allowing students to job shadow MEP Engerer in his day-to-day duties, while also taking care of several events organised in the EP including collaborations with Viiv Healthcare and Metal Packaging Europe. I also took photography for all events and whenever needed.

Radio Host at 89.7Bay – (Jul 24, onwards) Part Time

Once I had come back from my experience in Brussels, 89.7Bay was one of the first companies that I contacted to get back into. Discussions had gone very smoothly, and I eventually re-joined the 89.7Bay radio host lineup. Currently, I present the Saturday and Sunday shows from 7 am to 10 am. I also cover radio slots wherever needed from time to time.

Freelance Media Service Provider – (Jul 25, onwards) Part Time

Over and above my 89.7Bay radio job, I also restarted my self-employed business and started accepting freelance work once again. I plan to continue expanding my clientele in photography, videography, and all the services that I offer.

Private Secretary at Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue – (Sep 24 – Jul 25) Full Time

When I eventually came back from Brussels, apart from seeking re-employment with 89.7Bay, I was also looking into getting a full-time job. I required financial stability as I was looking into purchasing a property in Malta. Given my experience in assisting politicians, I did some research around and managed to get a job as the private secretary to the parliamentary secretary for social dialogue in Malta for Hon Andy Ellul. During my time with Hon Ellul, I worked on a number of exciting projects, including the organisation of the Premju Haddiem Tas-Sena and also the launch of Miscarriage Leave in Malta.

Concluding Remarks

Looking back, every opportunity, whether brief or long-term, has contributed meaningfully to my personal and professional growth. I’ve learned the importance of perseverance, adaptability, and staying true to my passions. As I move forward, I remain driven by a commitment to excellence and a desire to keep evolving in every role I take on.