The NTU alum with an inspiring remedy for loneliness
When Holly Cooke moved to London, she quickly became aware of how difficult it was to make friends and connections in a new city. It was a far cry from the welcoming community she’d enjoyed as a student.
Undaunted, the BA (Hons) Fashion Communication and Promotion graduate set up the Lonely Girls Club – a place for women to join a community, connect with others, try new things, and make friends.
Five years later, the club has over 70,000 members in groups across the country and is one of the UK's largest communities for women.
We wasted no time in dropping Holly a line.
Q: You started The Lonely Girls Club started on Facebook. Did you have any idea how popular it would become?
A: My sole purpose was to make friends in a new city. I thought I was the only person who was feeling lonely and craving connection. Five years later, it turns out I wasn't the only one and it's an issue and need that spans people of so many ages, demographics and life stages.
Q: What sort of things happen at Lonely Girl Club events?
A: A huge variety of things, from the Lonely Girls Walk Club to karaoke nights, brunches to picnics, craft sessions and more.
Q: It feels like there’s a lot of social pressure on us all to look happy and contented. Does admitting you feel lonely take courage?
A: Loneliness unfortunately has so many taboos and stigmas attached, despite being something that at least 50% of UK adults experience regularly. It's something we so often struggle to talk about as we feel like we're the only one who feels that way – which is not the case.
Q: Has it always been this way, or has something changed?
A: We're now becoming much more open to talking about feeling lonely and having conversations around it. It's fantastic that we're starting to break down the taboos.
The rise of remote working and loss of ‘third spaces’ such as community centres, places of worship and physical social clubs, has meant that people aren't going to their place of work as regularly as previous generations. Outside of work and home, there often isn't somewhere for people to connect like they did in the past.
Q: You studied Fashion, Communication and Promotion here at NTU – what are your memories of that time? Did you feel part of a strong community here?
A: I loved studying at NTU. It was one of the most formative and fun times of my life. We got to try things out, do live projects and learn skills like creating marketing plans, understanding customer groups, doing photoshoots, and so much more. This all helped me in my marketing career, and when I’m not running The Lonely Girls Club, I’m a senior CRM and email marketing executive for a gifting brand.
When you're a university or college student, you've automatically got places to meet people and build friendships – whether that be in lectures, seminars, the students union, societies or events. When you're outside the education system, you don't have these things as much, but that’s where we come in!
Q: What are your ambitions for the Lonely Girls Club?
Long term, we want to have a branch in every city in the country – if not the world one day – to help connect, support and bring together even more amazing women.
Proud to be NTU
There's no better time to connect with the NTU alumni community. With more than a quarter of a million members, it reaches around the world and into every industry you can imagine. Whether you’re looking to find old friends, give something back, or want to take advantage of our range of alumni benefits, we’re still here for you.