About
Hello — I’m Kayla. For more than five years I’ve worked inside universities as professional staff, the person who turns a good idea into students through the door: building international partnerships, running recruitment campaigns, and keeping complex projects on time, within budget, and kind to the team behind them.
Today I’m Senior Student Recruitment Officer at Northeastern University London, where I lead a global network of channel partners and shape recruitment strategy for our postgraduate programmes. Before that I spent three years as China Representative for the University of York — on the road, in the schools, and behind the scenes making the numbers work.
I care about the unglamorous middle of a project — the workflow everyone can read, the meeting that ends early, the handover that doesn’t drop anything. Done quietly, that’s how big institutions stay responsive to the students they serve.
Away from campus I write Soup England, a journal of slow living in London: seasonal cooking, walkable weekends, and the small rituals that keep a busy life feeling human. This site is where both halves meet.
What I focus on
Student recruitment & strategy
Planning and delivering recruitment campaigns across postgraduate programmes — from market segmentation and ROI-led budgeting to offer-holder events that move students from interest to enrolment.
Partnerships & project management
Managing 60+ global channel partners and cross-institutional teaching partnerships — contracts, commission structures, training and the flat collaborative workflows that keep diverse stakeholders moving together.
Lifestyle writing
Soup England is my practice in writing plainly and warmly — turning ordinary London weekends into suggestions readers can borrow on a Tuesday night.
A few small things · On & off the clock
Up to 15 weeks travelling
A recruitment cycle measured in airports
Panels & summits
TOEFL, CIALFO & UCAS, Duolingo and more
One student at a time
The conversations that matter most
Soup & slow weekends
Where Soup England begins
How I run a project
No two projects are identical, but the rhythm rarely changes. This is the loop I trust when the work gets noisy.
Step 01
Treat every task like a mini-project
I map out the steps so nothing falls through the cracks, and lean on digital reminders to prompt the right follow-up at the right milestone. Small structure, big calm.
Step 02
Prioritise by urgency and importance
Most important and urgent first, then urgent-not-important, then important-not-urgent, and finally the rest. Quick wins early build the momentum for the heavier work.
Step 03
Work flat, not top-down
Instead of a linear hand-off chain, I build one shared, real-time tracker so every department — academics included — can see their tasks and deadlines and update progress at once.
Step 04
Use the pockets of time
On the road, transit periods and quiet evenings handle daily enquiries and admin, so live projects never wait on me. A clear out-of-office and named contacts keep stakeholders informed.
Step 05
Build a buddy system
A designated background lead can step in seamlessly when I’m in live events or across time zones. Combined with rigorous personal planning, operations stay smooth however intense the cycle.
Step 06
Review, compare, share
At the close of each cycle I run the data, compare against previous years, and present the findings to the wider team — so the next round starts from a smarter place.
Work history
2024 — now
Senior Student Recruitment Officer
Northeastern University London
Represent the University at recruitment events in the UK and abroad, lead a network of 40+ global channel partners, and plan recruitment strategy across all postgraduate programmes — from information sessions and open events to commission management and partner training.
2021 — 2024
China Representative
University of York
Planned and executed annual recruitment and marketing initiatives for the Chinese market — cultivating key stakeholder relationships, analysing market intelligence, running offer-holder and pre-departure events, and building social-media content strategies to grow the brand.
2020
Overseas Documentary Project Assistant
Bilibili
Developed partnerships with domestic and international content institutions, managed resources for the documentary section, and helped lift promotion by 50% through negotiation and partnership-building.
2018
Student Associate Assistant Intern
Xi’an Jiaotong University
Supported inter-university cooperation projects and helped plan the 2018 Belt and Road Electric Power & Energy Executive Development Program, promoting student exchange across Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Education · Where I trained
2019 — 2020
MA Digital Media: Education
University College London · Distinction
A distinction master’s bridging education and digital media — the foundation for my work in online events, content strategy and data-led recruitment.
2014 — 2018
BA Chinese Language & Literature
Xi’an Jiaotong University · Siyuan Scholarship
Including an exchange year at the University of British Columbia, Canada (2016). Siyuan Academic Scholarship awardee.
Hiring, collaborating, or just curious?
Let's have a proper conversation.
Whether you’re an interviewer, a colleague with a knotty project, or a reader who tried one of my recipes — I’d love to hear from you.
