How long have you worked at the Uni? What does your role involve?
I have been here since March 2019, almost exactly six months. I am Deputy Head of Public Engagement and I sit in the Public Engagement Unit. My role is supports researchers to engage with public groups outside of academia. Before joining the University, I spent a year working in Communications for the Vulture Conservation Foundation, after six years at the Grant Museum of Zoology at UCL. When I was a student at Imperial College, I started volunteering at the Natural History Museum where I suddenly realised I really enjoyed talking to people about the natural world and there was an actual career in it and here I am, helping researchers engage public groups.
What would you most like to achieve while at the University?
I think I’d like to make a difference in terms of how researchers think about how they engage the public, and help them think about who those groups are. For me, the role is about supporting researchers to develop their skills engaging with people and, hopefully, utilising my skills in this area to help them apply and develop theirs’ too.
Name one thing that makes you feel proud to work at the University of Bath?
So far, I’ve been really impressed by how much of a community feel there is. I don’t think that’s the case at a lot of other universities. It feels very much like a community of people who are supportive of each other and I feel proud to see the fruits of that collaboration and sense of community in some of the work I’ve come across so far in different departments.
What piece of advice would you like to give to a student?
There’s two elements to that answer. Firstly, from my experience as a student, is to go and do stuff now while you can and you’ve got the chance. Don’t just focus on your studies, but think ahead and think about what you’d like to do when you leave university and get as much experience as you can while you're a student. If you want to volunteer then it’s a great time to do that now. That leads me onto my second point which is to be part of your local community and part of the city. Find a charity or organisation you feel passionate about and offer your time and services. It’ll be a massive benefit to you and a great way of giving back to the city.
Who was your most influential teacher/educator, and why?
I would say it was a Professor of Ecology at Imperial College, Simon Leather. He opened my eyes to the study of insects, entomology, and he was enthusiastic and passionate about, what I thought was a bit of a b-list group of animals. When I started university, I did what most zoologists do and think about the ‘David Attenborough trajectory’ and go off into the wild and observe the big charismatic mammals in their natural habitat. However, after working with Simon to investigate the diversity of insect life in the town of Bracknell, seeing some amazing animals like Tiger Beetles or Bee-Flies up close, I was a convert!
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A farmer! I definitely wanted to be a farmer because I liked animals, but I hadn’t thought through the full implications of being a farmer… It’s actually quite a hard slog with lots of early morning and late nights
What’s the one thing you know now that you wish you’d known when you were younger?
Curly hair is cool! When I was younger, I used to hate having curly hair and I wanted 90s boyband curtains, like the cool kids. I used to comb my hair into the style, which was fine when it was wet, but then when it dried, it ended up in two rows of curls! But actually having curly hair is pretty cool.
What was your first job?
Millie’s Cookies in Cardiff. I got a job there while I was studying for my A Levels, which I did for 3 years in total. Baked a load of cookies, sold a load of cookies and maybe ate too many cookies too!
If you could start your own dream business, what would it be?
It would be a bakery. I've really got into bread baking and pastry making and I quite enjoy it. It’s therapeutic and rewarding. There’s a bakery I really like going to in Bristol, the Bristol Loaf, it’s run by a great team who look like they have a great laugh during the baking, even if it does involve pretty early mornings.
Where is your favourite holiday destination and why?
Cape Cod in America, because it is absolutely gorgeous. Sticking out into the Atlantic on the east coast of the USA, the town right at the end called Province Town is a personal favourite. Cape Cod is a gorgeous holiday destination with lovely golden beaches all along the Cape. But it’s also really rich in biodiversity with everything from whale to bird watching. One of the highlights of my visits is the whale watching there, there is nothing more amazing than seeing Finback and Humpback Whales, some of the planet’s largest animals, up close and next to the boat. I’ve had a couple of pretty special wildlife encounters on the Cape, including whilst swimming happening upon a group of seals on a beach. However, it wasn’t until my way back from the beach that I noticed the massive warning sign that said “don’t swim in the water as Great White Sharks swim in the area when seals are around”!
What’s your favourite book or album and why?
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea by P.J. Harvey. Before I bought this album in 2001, I was definitely a pop chart fan recording my favourite songs on tape from the radio; but this album by indie singer Polly Jean Harvey really revealed a genre of music I hadn’t come across before. If I hadn’t discovered this album, I think my answer to that question would probably have been Whigfield by Whigfield (of Saturday Night fame) and my street cred would be in tatters.
In terms of books, it has to be the 13 books that make up Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. I know it is a children’s book series but I just loved the darkly comic stories of three orphans triumphing over some horrible life events that befall them when I was a teenager. And now, as I’m reading them to my young nephew, I’ve fallen in love with them all over again.
When are you happiest?
I recently have acquired an Irish Terrier puppy, and she is still quite young, so anytime when I’m not cleaning up poo is when I am currently happiest! But, I’m pretty happy spending time with my young niece and nephew. We spent the week camping in a campervan in Devon over the summer and roasting marshmallows and going for swims in the sea which was pretty fun.
If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be and why?
Having thought about this real hard, I think it would either have to be either David Attenborough or composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, both of whom are actually nonagenarians. I think I would have to go with the old cliché, for a zoologist, David Attenborough. I have actually met him a couple of times briefly and he has a bit of a cheeky personality and seems to like a bit of gentle ribbing, but it would cool to spend a bit longer in his company. I am pretty sure he has some great stories to share of his travels around the world and even though he’s well into his 90s, he still has an exuberant sense of enthusiasm for the natural world.
Which one superpower would you like to possess?
Flight, I think that would be quite handy. I have a lot of friends who have now settled all over the UK and further afield, so it would be helpful to be able to just pop over for a cup of tea and come back without the hours spent on Ryanair!
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I’m a bit of a long distance swimmer. Over the next couple of weeks I have two swims coming up organised by the Outdoor Swimming Society. I'll be doing the Dart 10k in a couple of weeks then another, the Hurly Burly swim in Wales, at the end of September. I’ll be spending about 3 hours swimming down rivers, as you do.
Tell us your favourite joke
Who is the king of the classroom? The ruler!