Year 12 students inspired by alumnae at ‘Learning Lunch’

On Wednesday 1 February, our Year 12 students relished the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge from their predecessors during an informative ‘Learning Lunch’ hosted by two St Mary’s alumnae. The session is part of our ongoing initiative to give students the opportunity to benefit from the experiences of different speakers in a relaxed setting.

Jenifer Elmslie and Claudia Driscoll, who both left St Mary’s in 2014, gave students an insight into the worlds of STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine) and Law, including the various career paths open to pupils when studying these subjects.

Following her time at St Mary’s, Jenifer completed a Master’s degree at the London School of Economics in International Development, Gender and Globalisation. She now works as a project manager on The Aviation Impact Accelerator, a cross department University of Cambridge initiative aimed at accelerating the transition to net zero air travel. Claudia is currently a PhD student at Oxford University, studying interdisciplinary biosciences, focusing on Biochemistry and Biotechnology.

Both speakers delivered insightful talks and students were interested to hear about their experiences and careers so far. Jenifer shared her advice on applying for internships and spoke about her work at the United Nations, which she said helped her to achieve her current role. Claudia explained the benefits of doing a Natural Sciences degree and the differences between working in industry and in research. She also spoke about some of the exciting projects she's been working on, including biospecific antibodies, and their potential future use in medical treatments.

Following the talks, students had the opportunity to ask alumnae any questions.

We would like to say a massive thank you to both Jenifer and Claudia for giving up their time to come back to St Mary’s and share their valuable experiences.