Job: BBC Radio Kent DJ

Attended: South Kent college

“I was living at Folkestone so it was handy that South Kent college had exactly the course I wanted and was in nearby Dover. I had been through sixth form and wasted a year doing a City and Guilds course at Mid Kent college in Maidstone. It just wasn’t for me.

“I didn’t have the top A-level grades. In those days you normally needed four As to get to the best universities.

“So I went to the South Kent college (on a Btec media studies course) and it was fantastic. The people on the course were really nice and the lecturers were very professional.

“It helped that the lecturers included radio journalists and film-makers.

You got a real feel for things.

“You learnt first-hand about what to expect in a media career from people who had actually done it and been through it all.

“I had always wanted to be a journalist; I was so determined.

“At the age of 12, I used to write for a newspaper called The Early Times and this gave me a real taste.

“I got sent to New York with the BBC’s Michael Buerk at the age of 12, so there was no looking back.

“But at South Kent college, I knew that I wanted to go into radio.

“It was a lecturer called Freddie Gafney who helped me realise that radio was the future for me.

“He taught me the techniques and the best way to do things and gave me the best piece of advice. He told me that, if I really wanted to succeed, I would have to work hard at it and keep going for it.

“There are two other lecturers I fondly remember - John Mahoney and Roy Mann.

“They also both gave me a lot of time and help and I enjoyed being taught by them.

“I would certainly say that my determination, along with the education side of it, helped me to get where I am today.

“If I hadn’t been so determined and not gone on that course at South Kent college, I would not have been able to get into radio like I so badly wanted.

“The days at college set me up nicely for the world of radio and I was never really nervous going on air and interviewing people after that.”

Dominic King was talking to Shekhar Bhatia