Cockermouth School

Journey since leaving Cockermouth School: I left Cockermouth School before going to Sixth Form after Carlisle United offered me the opportunity to go and play in their youth system. I made the life-changing decision at 16 years old to give football a shot at the expense of continuing my education and opening doors to higher education. Although my time with Carlisle United ultimately didn't work out (I never made it to a professional contract) it did give me the opportunity to go to the University of Bath, where I was able to get a BSc in Sports Performance and continue to play football. In the three years I was at Bath, I took the time to build strong personal relationships with my lecturers, who eventually became mentors. It was through this mentorship that a key advisor directed me into pursuing a master's degree after graduating from the University of Bath with a 2:1. Along with a good friend of mine, we were both lucky enough to secure full scholarships to complete our MBA's while playing out what was to be the rest of our football careers, at a University in North Carolina, USA. At the end of our MBA programme I made the decision to stay in America and started an entry-level sales role whilst also offering football coaching in the evening and at weekends. Following a series of opportunities, I have had the good fortune to establish my credibility within the oil and petroleum industry working in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and currently Long Beach where I am the Operations Manager for the largest importer of renewable fuels on the west coast of the USA. I manage a team of 25 employees who operate our facility 24/7/365 with a budget of $5.5 million. Advice for current students: Looking back through my life, sometimes I think I was lucky but what I did by building strong relationships, is give myself opportunity. There was a Roman philosopher called Seneca who said, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." I took the time to ensure my relationships with people were my preparation, so that when opportunity presented, it felt like lady-luck was on my side. So, the short answer is - value your relationship with people, as they are your past, present, and future.

Journey since leaving Cockermouth School: I left Cockermouth to join Sale Sharks on a professional rugby journey whilst completing my A2 levels at a school in Cheshire. I then went onto Leeds Metropolitan University, studying for a construction management degree and intending to play for Leeds Tykes, but injury curtailed my playing career. After university, I joined a family groundwork and civil engineering company in Cockermouth, starting in a trainee surveying position and quickly moving into management. I was leading the business by the age of 27 and grew it into one of the largest regional groundworks business in the north west of England, opening a second office in Manchester in the process. After 13 years in the groundwork business, I decided to follow my dreams of being a property developer and started Genesis Homes in 2017. Genesis has grown from a start-up to one of the largest housebuilders in Cumbria and Lancashire, delivering over 350 homes in the past 5 years and with over 1200 new homes planned over the coming years. The future ambition is to become a regional developer, with expansion into Lancashire and Cheshire, through organic growth and existing business acquisition. Construction and development is such a satisfying career. Everyday offers so much variety and challenges to overcome. From creating and conceptualise vision through to the hands-on delivery of construction and seeing that vision become reality, and ultimately to placemaking and seeing people enjoy the homes and community created. Advice for current students: Commit to the things you love - there's a world of opportunities out there and careers can be so varied nowadays. I always felt that my education to career path was quite rigid and I needed to follow traditional subjects and quickly learnt upon entering the 'real world' that I should have followed more of the things I enjoyed most.

Journey since leaving Cockermouth School: I first completed a BSc undergraduate degree at Newcastle University in Psychology which I graduated from with a 2:1 and spoke in the ceremony as the student orator. Whilst there I spent a year volunteering with the Alzheimer's Society and volunteering for Support Through Court in the Newcastle civil and family courts. I then moved to London and studied an MSc in Clinical Forensic Psychology at King's College London which I graduated from with distinction. As part of this degree I completed a placement as an Honorary Assistant Psychologist working in a homeless hostel for men who had mental health difficulties, substance abuse difficulties and most were in some way in touch with the criminal justice system. Once I graduated from my MSc I started as an Assistant Psychologist working in a women's prison (HMP Bronzefield) for the specialty personality disorder team and worked with women who had life or indeterminate sentences. I am currently working as a Senior Assistant Psychologist for Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and work with women sentenced to community orders who we assess for treatment under our service as part of a community sentence. I am also applying for the first time for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and once qualified (it can take several applications to get on) I hope to move into working with addiction and trauma. Advice for current students: Definitely never be afraid to ask others for help or opportunities, putting yourself out there can give you more support than you knew was available and can open more doors than are advertised out right. Make sure that you are leaving time to take care of yourself. If you don't give yourself that time to breathe then it is so much harder to learn how to do that later on.