Q: What is one of your biggest achievements?

A: I once worked in a prison service where the priority was to ensure that prisoners were able to integrate back into society without reoffending. My team and I realised a lot of prisoners had problems with reading and wriitng and the curriculum at the time didn't help their employabilty prospects. I vsiited a resettlement site and spoke to the manager where we discussed prisoners need qualifications that will get them into the workplace as soon as they leave even with a crimnial background. 

I thought this was a brilliant idea and worked with my colleagues to put together a bid to train prisoners in using industry standard IT systems that'll allow them to get an industry standard qualification. This practice was successful and is still used today.

Q: Who or what inspires you?

A: The students inspire me! I think that anybody who works in a college love to see their students grow, develop and become successful. Staff working in education have a priority and responsbility to get students to where they need to be. Every learner who enrols at a college does so because they want to better themselves and it is a pleasure to support them through their journey.

Q: If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

A: Mary Seacole. She was a British-Jamaican nurse who helped and healed soldiers during the Crimean war despite suffering from discrimination and prejudice. I would also love to have met Rosa Parks. She stood up for her rights and devoted her life to civil liberties and improving the lives of black people. 

Q: Having worked in Further Education for many years, what is the best piece of advice you could give to students?

A: The sky is the limit. Just because you may start at a course you don't think you should be at, it doesn't mean that if you don't work hard and apply yourself, you can't go as far as you can. There was a student who enrolled at a college I worked at. He started at just 14 years old due to getting expelled at his secondary school. At 16 years old, he enrolled on a full-time level 2 course and then he got an apprenticeship. That guy later went on to become the best bricklayer in the country! I say that to say, it doesn't matter how or where you start from, with hard work, you can get to where you need to be.

Q: What do you enjoying doing outside of your role?

A: I like cycling and running. My son has got me into chess which I also enjoy. If you'd like to learn how to play try chess.com. It's a free site where you can get lessons to learn. Once you're confident you can play against other members.

Q: If you could go back in time, what period of your life would you like to experience again?

A: I think I'd go back to when I was a university student. It was such a brilliant time to learn about all sorts of things. I had the time to think and reflect. My university had many oversea students and I met people from South Africa, Latin America, Japan, South Korea. A lot of the friends I made at university are still my friends today. I wouldn't change anything about the experience, but it would be lovely to relive it!

Q: What's the best piece of advice ever given to you?

A: "There's nothing more important than your family. Always value your family". This came from someone who was very, very work focused. It was quite an interesting observation.

Q: Tell me something... anything you think people should know about

A: This is a hard question...When I worked in Eastbourne (which is by the sea), we had a school that my college sponsored and I remember meeting a group of students and mentioning something about the sea. They all looked at me blankly so I asked "how many of you have not been to the sea" and they all put their hands up! This country is so beautiful and there's so many different aspects to it. London is great, but there's a big, wide world out there waiting to be explored. Travel. The seasides in the UK are absolutely beautiful. I encourage all to visit at least one.