Pursuing your passions
English graduate, Seth Burkett, demonstrates how to perfectly align two passions to build a successful career
Studying English gives you a wide range of transferable skills that will help you pursue your passions and opens up a breadth of career opportunities. Graduate of our English and Sport Science BA, Seth Burkett, demonstrates the amazing things that can be achieved when you are given the opportunity to combine your studies with your own personal interests, and set off on your own adventures.
Seth, who has had a passion for both football and creative writing since childhood, is now a full-time author. Having written and published a number of books, including collaborations with footballers and world-famous YouTubers, as well as fiction and non-fiction books for children, Seth combines his writing with school visits, workshops, and freelance work as a social media consultant and copywriter.
Writing has become a passion of mine since studying English at Loughborough University, where reading diverse texts opened my eyes to different writing styles. I hope there will be many more books to come.
The Boy in Brazil
Seth’s first book, The Boy in Brazil, was inspired by his time spent playing professional football in Sorriso after being scouted in Brazil at the age of 18.
The book was shortlisted for Football Book of the Year at the 2016 British Sport Book Awards. The synopsis below gives a flavour of its narrative:
When Seth Burkett travelled to Brazil for a youth tournament with his local team Stamford, he was stunned by what happened next. Spotted by a scout, he accepted an offer to join Sorriso Esporte Clube in the central state of Mato Grosso and became a media celebrity as well as the only English professional in the football-crazy country. The Boy in Brazil is a charming and insightful account of his magical season in the sun as an 18-year-old in Sorriso – Portuguese for smile – and takes a bittersweet look at the beautiful game and cultural concerns of the vibrant nation which would host the 2014 World Cup finals. On his journey from boy to man, he would discover an uncanny and unexpected family link to the foundation of the sport in Brazil. He would also come to see, through a tragedy in Sorriso and the sad fate of its football club, that a childhood dream joyously fulfilled also had a dark side.
It was an incredible experience that was the making of the person I am today. It taught me so much about life – the thing that I will always take away from it is how happy you can be even when you don’t have anything.
Titans of the Teardrop Isle
Seth’s latest book, Titans of the Teardrop Isle, follows his time playing professional football in Sri Lanka with the Trinco Titans, owned by Sri Lankan cricketing legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
The book's synopsis describes the highs and lows of Seth's story:
Unfortunately, [Seth] is in the dark about the quality of football, the standard of pitches, the delicate local political tensions, even the dates of the fixtures... Before long, he is fully immersed in the Titans family, experiencing everything the country has to offer him: new friendships, picture-postcard beaches, a relaxed approach to organisation and time-keeping, thousands of new Facebook followers, and a crash course in the Teardrop Isle's recent troubled history. There will be results to forget but it will be a summer to remember.
Titans of the Teardrop Isle covers my time playing pro football in Sri Lanka, a unique and fascinating country. I took on the contract with the intention of writing about my experiences and hope I've done justice to the brilliant people I met.
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