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I have always had an interest in science in general, but it was my A-level teacher, Andy, who inspired me to pursue chemistry. He made lessons engaging, did great practical demonstrations, and signed me up for the Chemistry Olympiad. Then, once I entered an industrial chemistry lab, that was it. I love both the practical side and the beauty of the theory behind organic chemistry.

I am fortunate to have a fantastic mentor, Steve Fussell. Unlike many other managers in my department, Steve doesn’t have a PhD and instead climbed up the ranks from fresh graduate. He has put together a great team and gets the best out of each member. His dedication to the team, ambitious ideas, and commitment to diversity and inclusion inspires me.

Finding solutions to problems gives me great satisfaction. There is nothing better than a robot behaving perfectly after a frustrating day of trial-and-error. What gets me out of bed some mornings is the excitement to see if my robot performed its tasks overnight with no errors.

Absolutely consider an apprenticeship. When I finished my A-levels, I knew I liked science, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I was not ready to commit to university. My Level 3 apprenticeship lasted two years and was a fantastic taster of the industry. I was able to build up my network, visit a variety of different labs, and discover what it was I really wanted to do.

Last year, I went on a month-long study abroad trip to India through my university. I stayed at Lovely Professional University in Punjab where I learned Hindi, yoga, and cooking, amongst other things. We also went on excursions to the Golden Temple, Dharamsala (where the Dalai Lama resides), and on a free weekend we went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.