Jane is a pharmacist at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester. She lives in Didsbury, South Manchester, with her husband Steve and has two grown-up children. Jane grew up on the border of Sheffield and Derbyshire where her family had lived for generations. Jane enjoyed secondary school, where she gravitated towards the sciences which led her to London to study clinical pharmacy at London University before completing her pre-registration year at St George’s Hospital, and then a two-year Basic Grade Ph...
Dec 23, 2020•20 min•Ep. 35
Allan was brought up in Essex and Somerset. He enjoyed his time at school and went on to college to study physics, maths, further maths, computing and geology, just to stretch his boundaries! He then went on to Exeter University to study physics, which included an industrial placement. After finishing university, Allan went on to join British Airways as an infrastructure Engineer where he worked in the big city of London, a time in his life he cherishes. Allan now works at The National Nuclear L...
Dec 21, 2020•16 min•Ep. 32
Eilidh grew up in a small village near St Andrew’s on the East coast of Scotland, where she scooped ice cream at Anstruther Fish Bar. She started languages at university but found this wasn’t for her and so she left early and spent a year in America as an Au Pair working with children with ADHD. This role taught her to be organised, focussed and above all patient. Eilidh returned to the UK and decided to study Business and Marketing at the University of Stirling. Whilst here, she got involved wi...
Dec 18, 2020•12 min•Ep. 31
Jo lives with her partner in Johannesburg in South Africa, but she grew up in Cornwall on a farm and experienced a very outdoor type of childhood. Jo found comprehensive school nurtured her to achieve better things in the future. She enjoyed maths and the sciences, in particular biology and chemistry where her teachers inspired her love of the subjects through their enthusiasm. Jo went on to study for a BA (Hons) in Natural Science natural science at Cambridge University, something she never tho...
Dec 16, 2020•29 min•Ep. 34
Amr grew up in Yemen in his early years. At the start of the civil war he moved with his family to Cardiff, a decision his dad does not regret. Amr thrived in a learning environment, encouraged by his dad to have a good education, with a particular focus on sciences. He went on to study Chemical Engineering at Sheffield University before working for Spirax Sarco working on steam applications in the oil and petrochemicals sectors. In 2017, Amr joined the National Nuclear Laboratory. He has enjoye...
Dec 14, 2020•14 min•Ep. 30
Kieron grew up and lives in Wigan, a town renowned for rugby league. Kieron enjoyed school, especially the sports side of it. A keen football fan, a golf and cricket enthusiast and of course a talented rugby league player it was only natural that when he left school he was successful in getting the opportunity to play professional rugby league for Salford City Reds at the young age of 15. Dedicated to the sport, he developed a discipline to work, work, work to stay on the path to success, which ...
Dec 11, 2020•18 min•Ep. 29
Lorna Fitzsimons lives in Rochdale and is a board member at Greater Manchester local enterprise partnership, and CEO and co-founder of The Pipeline Ltd, an organisation that works to develop leaders and female talent to add value to business. At school, Lorna had a love for art and pursued that passion when she went to Loughborough College of Art and Design to study art. Whilst here, she became President of the National Union of Students (NUS). After her time with NUS, Lorna went on to be the As...
Dec 09, 2020•25 min•Ep. 33
Kate grew up in Cumbria and went to St Benedict’s High School where she had a love for all subjects apart from physical education! Kate went on to Leeds University to study an integrated master’s in physics. She found living in Leeds a huge change from living in a small village in Cumbria, but loved it! She made the most of city life. Her moto is “you only live once, so do something fun!” After finishing university, Kate spent many hours job searching. Having grown up in Cumbria, an area renowne...
Dec 07, 2020•14 min•Ep. 28
Jack grew up in Norwich. At school, he really enjoyed the science subjects and went on to study chemistry, biology, and maths at A-level before specialising in chemistry at Sheffield University. He found his transition to university tough but also a part of his life where he grew up and learned to stand on his own two feet. University life made him realise he thrives under pressure to get a job done. Following university, Jack spent a successful 18 months working in crop genetics at the John Inn...
Dec 04, 2020•17 min•Ep. 27
Vicky grew up in Greater Manchester and went to Hulme Grammar School for Girls where she really enjoyed learning and made the most of the opportunities the school gave her. Vicky now lives in Stockport with her husband Anthony. Vicky really enjoyed and excelled in sociology through school and college and went on to study sociology and social psychology at the University of Bradford. After graduating from university, Vicky went on to become an account executive at WWAV Rapp Collins North for two ...
Dec 02, 2020•28 min•Ep. 26
Caroline Longman is Account Director for Government at the National Nuclear Laboratory and lives in Oxfordshire with her husband Guy and their three children. Caroline grew up in Northampton before moving to study physics at Swansea University, being one of only a few girls on the course. After graduation, Caroline moved to London to join the Medical Research Council doing some work on dizziness. From here, she went to work for her father for a couple of years in insurance. Not satisfied that sh...
Nov 25, 2020•27 min•Ep. 25
David Thomas always wanted to be a pilot. He grew up in Newcastle Upon Tyne and after a successful career with the RAF and the Red Arrows, he now flies 737 with TUI. He lives with his partner Nikki, their two children Elliott and William. These and Nikki’s other two grown up children Jack and Tom are all a very important part of David’s life. From an early age, David was interested in airplanes and had always wanted to fly them. He remembers a holiday in Corfu watching the airplanes land at the ...
Nov 18, 2020•32 min•Ep. 24
Claire Hindle is Head of Legal at NNL. She lives in Hale with her husband Pete and two teenage sons along with their Labrador Collie cross, Brook. In Claire’s early years, her studies took her to Sheffield University to study music and French something she had a passion for from being young. Early on, Claire recognised this wasn’t the career path she wanted to go down and took the plunge to change to law. A decision she doesn’t regret. Even partaking as chair for the Edward Bramley Law Society. ...
Nov 11, 2020•24 min•Ep. 23
Gary Cookson is Director at Epic HR Ltd. He grew up in Winsford, Cheshire and went to Verdin High School. He still lives in Winsford with his wife and four children and has been recognised in HR magazine’s HR Most Influential: Movers and Shakers 2019. After finishing high school, Gary went to the University of Huddersfield to study history which was a subject that had always been of great interest to him. Gary then went on to do a PGCE in secondary history at the University College of St Martins...
Nov 04, 2020•36 min•Ep. 22
Monica Mwanje is Managing Director of MM Creative Solutions and Co-Founder of Diversity and Inclusion in Nuclear. Monica grew up in Merseyside and now resides in Liverpool. During lockdown, she had the pleasure of her brothers living with her! After leaving higher education, Monica went to Birmingham University to study chemical engineering whilst combining it with a language. From here, Monica was successful in securing a job at Sellafield Ltd as a Graduate Chemical Engineer where she found her...
Oct 28, 2020•31 min•Ep. 21
Kirsty Gogan is the Managing Director of LucidCatalyst and Co-Founder of Energy for Humanity a non-profit organisation focused on solving climate change. She grew up in Dublin and Lemington Spa, and now lives in southeast London with husband Anthony and two children. After finishing high school, Kirsty wanted a bit of freedom and to earn some money. She worked as the as the manager of an opticians, but soon realised this wasn’t for her. She read Politics at the University of West of England and ...
Oct 21, 2020•27 min•Ep. 20
Dr Mark Edmiston is Head of Independent Assurance for the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory. He lives in Cumbria with his wife Lindsay and their two children. Mark talks to us about his love of history and how that took him to study Chemistry at the University of Glasgow to PhD level! After leaving University, Mark successfully got a job at BNFL as a technologist working on advanced reprocessing, gaining Chartered Chemist status. Following spells in project management and people management Mark b...
Oct 14, 2020•20 min•Ep. 19
Christie Spurling talks about the challenges he faced in his early years. One of only three black children growing up in Lymm in the 1970's he struggled with racism and learning difficulties. The challenges were so severe that he was permanently excluded from school and placed in a full-time residential unit. Christie shares his story openly and honestly. He finally found his passion for social work which inspired him to set-up N-Gage, a charity that works with young people at risk of exclusion....
Oct 07, 2020•27 min•Ep. 18
Jay Bhart tells us about challenges at school and discovering that he had dyslexia. His inspirational journey explains how he learnt to manage this and go on to have a successful career; from being an apprentice at Rolls-Royce to Programme Office Director for the UK’s Nuclear Sector Deal. Jay explains the importance of listening to the reason why people respond to a situation in a certain way by understanding their point of view and how it unlocks a different sort of conversation. He also has so...
Sep 30, 2020•24 min•Ep. 17
Trevor Llewelyn has had two parallel careers: an International High Jump Coach and Head of Department at his former school, Dulwich College. He grew up in South Croydon with limited access to academic subjects before gaining a free place on the 11+ to Dulwich College where he admits he struggled with the variety of subjects on offer. Through reading, Trevor became interested in Geography and it was his love of that subject which took him to St John's College, Cambridge to study where his love fo...
Sep 23, 2020•24 min•Ep. 16
Adriènne Kelbie shares her story which starts with being curious! She developed her natural ability to understand people and the world around. Growing up around Glasgow, Adriènne had a love for horses and through this learnt discipline and time keeping with one of her own to look after, giving her a good work ethic. Working incredibly hard, Adriènne has had a diverse career journey taking her from temping as a PA, to training roles, to Operations Director at the National Lotteries Charity Board ...
Sep 16, 2020•28 min•Ep. 15
Rob Whittleston is NNL’s Vice President for Insight and works as part of the Science Strategy and Innovation directorate where he is leading the delivery of strategic intelligence and insight to support sector growth in a shifting nuclear landscape. Rob talks about his choice to study Earth System Science at Leeds University before successfully completing a PhD in Geochemistry. Rob’s varied career, saw him starting out as a project manager with Radioactive Waste Management before moving on to Hi...
Sep 09, 2020•25 min•Ep. 14
Deb Hill shares her career story as a technical leader in the field of nuclear criticality and a storm chaser in her spare time. As a nervous youngster, Deb learned to grow and develop through the encouragement of a mentor and the realisation that only she could step outside her comfort zone. Deb’s story is one of growing boldness to grow and develop as person and in a career. Her advice to new graduates is now, “don’t let you be the one who holds you back”. Deb Hill is a Technical Leader and a ...
Sep 02, 2020•25 min•Ep. 13
Steve Garwood grew up in South Glamorgan. His ambition to read Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College was deemed "Aiming a bit high" by one school teacher. But upon arriving, he gained fresh motivation. Elastic-plastic fracture mechanics, court cases and the world of engineering have all played a part in his career jouney. Whether it’s gaining a PhD or jetting off to Newfoundland to study a ship failure, there are plenty of lessons to take away from Steve’s story. A key person in the UK's st...
Aug 26, 2020•34 min•Ep. 12
Nassia Tzelepi was fascinated by science from a young age growing up in Greece. It led her to read Molecular and Laser Physics at the University in Crete. Her career journey took her from 40°C heat in Greece to horizontal rain in West Cumbria to work in the UK nuclear industry. Nassia talks about discovering her purpose and her inner desire see the positive impact of science in the real world; on energy and the environment. As a materials expert, Nassia shares her passion to contribute to a grea...
Aug 21, 2020•19 min•Ep. 11
For David King, life is an adventure. Having trained in law, he had a successful international career in accountancy becoming Finance Director and then Chief Executive of a Primary Care Trust. Everything changed in 2006, when the Care Trust was dissolved. For the first time in his life he had “zero plans”. David’s Christian faith, adventurous spirit, and a passion for making a difference led him into the charity sector and teaching English as a second language. Since 2006, David has travelled to...
Aug 12, 2020•34 min•Ep. 10
Lindsay Edmiston discusses her career adventure including how she has successfully managed family priorities with a leading career in the nuclear industry. Lindsay studied Industrial Chemistry at Cardiff and though she couldn’t speak German went to do a PhD in Germany - she learnt quickly! Her career then took her to West Cumbria and the nuclear industry where she has developed an ability to bring together and manage teams. Lindsay is a Business Leader and Head of Capability in nuclear waste man...
Aug 05, 2020•24 min•Ep. 9
Rich Deakin talks about stepping outside his comfort zone from a working class background in a South Yorkshire mining community to an influential career in the nuclear sector. Rich is a people person, recognising the importance of other people's skills in the teams he has led. This approach has helped him to solve some of the nuclear industry's most challenging problems in operating facilities. Rich discusses what he has learned about himself and about working with others, and how his family sha...
Jul 29, 2020•29 min•Ep. 8
Mars Skae had a clear idea of what she wanted to become following the kindness of a private paediatrician who treated her for free as a young child in a poor family. Her journey took her from Kuala Lumpur, where she grew up, to secondary school in Singapore and then to university in Sheffield. Mars’ passion, hard work, willingness to embrace other cultures, and a miracle or two along the way finally led her to become a consultant paediatrician in Manchester. Mars Skae is a Consultant Paediatric ...
Jul 22, 2020•29 min•Ep. 7
James Murphy talks about the ups and downs of a career that has taken him from War Studies, through Journalism to Business Strategy. Having grown up near the Bovington Tank Museum, James was fascinated by humankind's capacity for either procreating or killing. He went to Kings College London to read War Studies, but recognised the front line was not for him. Instead, he chose a different front line - that of journalism which took him into some challenging situations. James was impatient to devel...
Jul 15, 2020•28 min•Ep. 6
