I left school at 16 and worked as a sales assistant in Reading. I then had various unskilled manual and retail jobs until 1995 when I had my daughter.

In 1998 at the age of 23 I decided that I had to improve my prospects both for myself and for my three year old daughter. I enrolled on an Access course at TVU (formerly Reading College) in 1999 after spending the intervening seven years in various low paid jobs. Science had been my favourite subject at school so I chose to use the access course to prepare myself for a degree in Biochemistry. Since graduating in 2003 from Reading University I have worked as a research assistant at Imperial College (2003-2004) and at the University of Oxford (my current employer).

The best thing about my job is that I have met Prof. Lord Robert Winston - twice! I work with some truly inspirational people who are dedicated and highly knowledgeable in their field. I work in a group of ten, assisting on as many projects as I am required to. I have particular expertise in micro-MRI so I manage all MRI related work within the lab.

No matter what background you are from, don’t be intimidated by the thought of going to university. At school I was sure that I didn’t have what it took to continue with education but all I lacked was self-confidence. Tutors and lecturers, and your fellow students will help you in any they can; you only need to ask. Even if you didn’t achieve high GCSE grades you can still proceed to university; you just need to explore your options and alternative paths.

If you would rather work than continue with studying, don’t worry; at 24 I was able to enrol at university as a mature student. However, if you are already sure about uni, go for it! Try and pick a broad degree subject with plenty of exposure to established and emerging technologies. Just a word of caution – even if it doesn’t count towards your degree, don’t waste the first year… It will give you the fundamentals upon which the rest of your degree will be built, and give you a great chance to build a good relationship with your tutors.

I love web design! I created a website for our group to help with patient recruitment having learnt HTML from scratch a few months previously. I have realised, particularly since I’ve been at Oxford, that I am a technical, analytical problem-solver. I have been very privileged to have had access to excellent courses and teachers who have helped me to realise previously untapped potential. I would like to explore the more technical aspects of my job and perhaps eventually become involved in programming. The wonderful thing about my job is that my boss allows me to indulge my interests in any way that is beneficial to the group; he is a great believer in continued personal development.

Having goals to aim for is a great motivator. Many of the decisions in my life have been motivated by a need to escape situations but this approach lacks a clear end-point so is often unachievable. Having realistic aims and chipping away until you achieve those aims is the best way to move forward. I believe that life is one long lesson; it’s always possible to better yourself.