{"id":1453,"date":"2023-07-05T10:48:05","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T09:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/?p=1453"},"modified":"2023-07-05T15:26:14","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T14:26:14","slug":"one-question-changed-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/one-question-changed-her-life\/","title":{"rendered":"One question changed her life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Zita Alves helps people change their lives through exercise and healthy living. That\u2019s what gives her a buzz. But she didn\u2019t always realise that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Zita came from her home in Berkshire to study at UWE Bristol for an HND in Business and Finance with Marketing in 1990. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She featured in our 1995 prospectus, saying then that \u2018a good foundation in business is essential for many careers\u2019.  So, 28 years later, we caught up to find out if she was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hotshot marketer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zita graduated and went straight into a marketing role . She was working in print production before the internet became mainstream. Her job was exciting and fast paced, working with clients like Barclaycard and Readers Digest, surrounded by other young and ambitious people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was successful, got promoted to Project Manager and was responsible for some big campaigns. Zita recalls this time of her life;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cAlthough it was very interesting it was also super, super stressful. My lifestyle was unhealthy, and my body was suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It was around this time Zita recalls doing a personality test, which suggested she was suited to being a teacher, but it wasn\u2019t until later that the pieces of the puzzle came together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An unexpected calling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zita continued to train and develop her skills in marketing. But it was after she was made redundant in 1997 that she took stock. Listening to the radio one day a sentence popped out at her \u2013 a voice asking, \u2018do you want to be a personal trainer?\u2019. And despite Zita having never consider anything remotely similar,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSomething inside me said ‘I just want to do this.’ And so I did!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She embarked on an intense vocational personal trainer course back in Bristol. The course was very male dominated including many ex-military men with a background in physical training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI remember them talking about quadriceps, and I didn\u2019t know what they were!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In a complete change of career from marketing and project management, Zita found herself relying again on the foundations that she learnt from studies to kick-start her next steps. She set up a personal training business within Forte Hotel group and worked hard to build up her client base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding her purpose<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Colour<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zita\u2019s business grew and changed over the years. When COVID hit, she lost her personal training clients due to lockdowns, but her other classes went online. Zita realised she was providing a lifeline for people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat I was providing was valuable, and I loved having that purpose. I want to teach. That’s the bit I love. That’s where I get my energy, from other people. I bring my energy to people and I get energy back!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A passion for women\u2019s health<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zita made the decision in 2018 to focus her business entirely on women \u2013 she is<\/em> her target market, and that means she can offer relatability and understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She now runs retreats, working increasingly with meditation and breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of her clients are women approaching their 50s and are affected by the menopause. Everything Zita is passionate about \u2013 self-care and good mental health through healthy eating, exercise and relaxation – supports women through this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Colour<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And finally, Zita\u2019s advice for current business students<\/strong>….<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cYou never know where you’re going to end up or how valuable what you’re learning will turn out to be. And it\u2019s just as much about people too, making connections.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It turns out one of Zita\u2019s lecturers from her student days now comes to one of her stretch classes. So the skills and connections that Zita gained at university really were a good foundation for what followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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For more about Zita visit zitaalves.com.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UWE Bristol alumni \u2013 quick links<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

UWE Bristol Alumni homepage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sign up for offers and fundraising and update your details<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join Alumni Connect online mentoring network<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore Alumni benefits and discounts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support UWE Bristol Fund<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zita Alves helps people change their lives through exercise and healthy living. That\u2019s what gives her a buzz. But she didn\u2019t always realise that. Young Zita came from her home in Berkshire to study at UWE Bristol for an HND in Business and Finance with Marketing in 1990. She featured in our 1995 prospectus, saying … Continue reading “One question changed her life”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":1458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-bristol","category-profile"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1453"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1486,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions\/1486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}