St Mary's Careers Fair Opens the Door to Limitless Ambitions
This autumn's St Mary’s Careers, Apprenticeship and Higher Education Fair brought together students, industry professionals, universities and apprenticeship providers for an inspiring evening of exploration and discovery. The event reflected St Mary’s commitment to preparing students for a world of exciting opportunities, encouraging them to think ambitiously, explore their interests and develop the confidence to shape their own futures.
Students had the opportunity to explore a wide range of career pathways, including medicine, law, engineering, finance, creative arts, environmental science. Representatives shared insights into university courses, apprenticeships and the skills and qualifications needed to succeed in different professions both in the UK and internationally.
The event was a great success, with employers praising the students for their enthusiasm, confidence and thoughtful questions. One exhibitor commented that the students were “so forward-thinking”, while another described St Mary’s as their “favourite school to visit”.
It was particularly rewarding to welcome back some familiar alumnae faces, with some returning for their third or even fourth event to offer tangible examples of the diverse career opportunities that lay ahead.
Helena C. is one such alumna, returning with a colleague, Laura O'F. to represent Cambridgeshire Constabulary. They were prepared for a lot of questions from students keen to look beyond the familiar face of policing and find out about the many different roles and specialisms available.
Working in the built environment and championing women forging careers in traditionally male-dominated roles, Maiya F returned, with a hands-on task, to share how she continues to develop her skills and expertise within her profession. Now a Graduate Quantity Surveyor and 'in full revision mode again', she is working towards her chartership and becoming a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS). | 
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We were delighted to see 2013 alumna, Claire W. representing ADAS. She was keen to explain how she enjoys applying her knowledge to site work and ecological surveys and she also had some useful advice for students, based on her own early career experiences: be prepared for your plans to change, to give different opportunities a go and never consider an experience as wasted simply because it wasn't for you - it all adds to your knowledge and helps shape your future career. | 
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With such a wide range of representative from 40 different organisations, the fair was buzzing as students explored new career possibilities, asked questions and gained valuable insights into the options available to them.
The students themselves were appreciative of the efforts made by our Careers Team to provide such a valuable resource, with some super feedback:
Thank you for organising such an amazing event - it really made a difference for us students to find out more!
The whole fair was incredibly interesting and useful.
October 2026