The catalyst to propel you in a new direction

It is important to me to be passionate about my job. When I was younger, I was just always interested in the natural world, animals and being outside.

So, zoology as an undergraduate degree was the obvious choice. It also taught me about how human development impacts habitats and species.  

This led me to my role as an Environmental Consultant at Mott MacDonald (2017-2021). But I was looking for more out of my career. I needed the space to experiment, grow and ignite that spark.

The right fit for me 

I came to study at Southampton because it offered a course that fit me. I wanted to dig deeper into my subject, but I also wanted to know a bit more about environmental law, geographic information systems (GIS), and how these areas interact in the conservation ecosystem.  

The master's was in biodiversity and conservation, but it also allowed me to try other more generalist topics, which kind of filled in some gaps in my knowledge and experience.  

I came for a visit day; everyone was so passionate. The teaching staff was amazing; everyone was inspiring their students about their research. I just had to be a part of it.

When I started my master’s, I was treated as a professional, not just as someone here to learn. Independence was encouraged. I just became a better learner here because I was allowed to be curious, find something that interested me and run with it.

Alongside learning, I was given the opportunity to defend my own thoughts and viewpoints, deliver presentations and discuss the pathway I wanted my learning to take.  
 

The space to choose my direction 

I think I can describe my career as evolving organically. At each stage, I have done something that I was passionate about, but it has uncovered another interest that I wanted to explore.

At each step, I have gained a lot more confidence, which started from my master’s and being given the space to choose the direction I wanted to take.  

After my master’s, I used my passion for policy and became a Senior Policy Advisor for Biodiversity Net Gain at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2021-2023), but I still craved that space to try, fail and move forward.

I was fascinated how national targets were actioned locally, how a policy can be interpreted in multiple ways, leading to different outcomes across the country.    

I knew I wanted to be part of that inspiring environment and culture again, so I came back to Southampton for my PhD. My research allows me to speak to the people making the decisions in local government about land use, renewable energy and the protection of green spaces for biodiversity.

Be curious and dig deeper 

I love being able to win over a client by communicating a very complex idea in a way they will understand. And I have discovered I love teaching too.  

My roles in industry have taught me how to do a nine-to-five job, but my master’s helped me to be curious, dig deeper into my subject and taught me how to be flexible, manage my time and work with other people. 

I am now doing my PhD part time and teaching part time as well. Again, that was encouraged, which is great because it's given me extra training into how to be a researcher, but also how to be a lecturer.