Home About Me Projects & Events Writing Portfolio Social and Digital Work Work With Me Contact Me

Bethany Spain

Community Storyteller | Communications Specialist | Youth Leader | Heritage & Social Justice Advocate | Writer

Hi!

I'm a communications specialist and youth leader with a passion for heritage, community, and social justice. 

I’m currently completing my MSc in Digital Media and Communication at the University of Stirling. Whether I’m leading workshops, building campaigns, or writing stories that centre lived experience, I believe in the power of storytelling to connect, include, and inspire.

Here you’ll find a selection of my published work, current projects, and reflections on identity, access, and creativity.

Thanks for stopping by — feel free to get in touch if you'd like to collaborate!

Explore My Site

About Me

Written Work

Digital Work

Current Projects

Work With Me

Contact Me

Skills Snapshot

Creative Skills

  • Copywriting & Editing
  • Storytelling & Research
  • Digital Content Creation

Strategy & Support

  • Campaign Planning
  • Digital Strategy
  • Social Media Management

Community Focus

  • Youth Engagement
  • Workshop Facilitation
  • Public Speaking & Hosting

Recent Articles

The Sutton Trust •

Unpaid work is killing class diversity in the creative industries - The Sutton Trust

The Sutton Trust has long campaigned to put an end to unpaid internships. Following the publication of the Government’s consultation on banning unpaid internships, our Alumni Leadership Board member, Bethany Spain, draws on her personal experience of working for free.
There’s a familiar phrase that floats around the creative industries like a rite of passage: “It’s all about getting your foot in the door.”. But over the past few years (between jobs, volunteering, studying, and freelancing) I’ve...
Groundwork •

BLOG: Where the Hills Are Home – Growing Up Outdoors in Clackmannanshire - Groundwork

Some people mark home by a street name or a postcode. For me, it was always the hills. 

Growing up in Clackmannanshire, you couldn’t miss them. Bold and looming, never quite the same shade twice. On clear days, they were sharp and green. On others, softened by fog or dusted with snow. Whatever the weather, they were there. They made our landscape feel bigger than any map could show.
Groundwork •

BLOG: The Space to Speak – What I’ve Learned from Youth-Led Change (and Why It Matters for Nature) - Groundwork

I didn’t grow up thinking of myself as a ‘youth voice’. At 16, I signed up to volunteer mostly to get out of the house. It was something to do, a way to meet people, and (if I’m honest) a chance to travel on someone else’s budget. I didn’t know it then, but that decision was the start of something much bigger. That one opportunity led to years of involvement in youth-led groups, campaigns, and creative projects. It taught me how to speak up, and more importantly, how to listen.


Since then, I’...
The Sutton Trust •

Don’t make me move to London - The Sutton Trust

The theme for Social Mobility Day 2025 is #ShiftMindsets. To mark this important day, our Alumni Leadership Board member, Bethany Spain, discusses why we need to challenge traditional narratives around success and social mobility.
It’s a phrase I’ve heard countless times. Both from others and, if I’m honest, from myself: “You have to move to London if you want to make it in the media.” It’s the unspoken rule, the default expectation, the supposed gateway to opportunity. But the truth is, moving...
Brig Newspaper •

Living in Migraine Town: The Hidden Reality of Chronic Pain

The first time I got a migraine, I thought it was just a bad headache and a worse day. It was 2020, I was 19, midway through my undergrad and mid-lockdown. Everyone had something they were dealing with then, so I didn’t want to make a fuss. I took paracetamol, drank some water, and shut the blinds. But it came back the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that.


At first, I kept thinking, maybe it’s stress. Maybe I’m dehydrated. Maybe I’m just tired. It turns out it was none of...
Brig Newspaper •

The Things You Don’t List on the Application: What Volunteering Has Really Taught Me

I never started volunteering to ‘gain experience.’ Not really. That’s the phrase you use on your CV, or when you’re nervously explaining why you’re giving up your weekend again. But the truth is, I started volunteering because I wanted to feel useful. To feel part of something. I wanted to believe I could do something good, even if I didn’t have much else to give.


And maybe I wasn’t always sure where I fit: too shy to lead a room, too anxious to network, too stubborn to sit quietly when somet...
Brig Newspaper •

Seats Taken: What the Bus Taught Me About the World

The first time I got a bus alone I was 13. I was heading into town to meet friends; it was someone’s birthday, and we were going to see the latest Marvel movie. I was finally old enough that my mum let me go without panicking about whose parents could drive me there and back. I’d never been on the bus much before then. There was never a reason to, we could walk everywhere we needed to go. That was the perk of living in a village, it was small, familiar, and easily walked.


It was simple enough...

Instagram - LinkedIn