Have you always been interested in journalism and communications?
“I underperformed in high school because I wasn’t interested in half the subjects on the curriculum. However, I really enjoyed English and Modern Studies. Music has always been a passion of mine, and I remember reading a music magazine and thinking that music journalism could be a career for me. I had a teacher in fifth year who really encouraged me, and I began to develop my writing skills.
After high school I enrolled on a college journalism course in Glasgow. The city has a really good music scene, and I thought that if I’m going to go into music journalism, then this is probably the best place for me to make connections.
I’m from Edinburgh and travelled through to Glasgow each day. My mum never thought I was going to be able to do it because I was one of those people that would start something but give up really quickly. However, this experience was the birth of me of building up the determination to keep going.”
What was your experience at Edinburgh Napier like?
“After a year studying at college I enrolled at ENU as I'd heard it had one of the best journalism courses in the UK.
I didn’t join any clubs and societies although I wish I had. The main reason I didn’t was because I was so busy with extracurricular stuff. I didn’t want to leave university with only a degree so I tried to get work experience where I could. This included roles at Sky News, Edinburgh Evening News and the Edinburgh Reporter – opportunities I heard about through the University. I also wrote my own music blog which gained a lot of traction, and I would regularly get bands and PR agencies approach me.”
What was your first role after graduating?
“I started university wanting to become a music journalist, but I had become disillusioned with the industry and ended up feeling a bit lost at the end of my studies.
I worked at Tesco part time throughout university and after graduating in 2017 I became a full-time staff member. Obviously this paid the bills, but I also wanted to evidence to future employers that I was a hard worker.
Working in the communications and journalism sector was still my ambition and so I began looking at ways I could keep my cv up to date. My lecturers at Edinburgh Napier would tell us not to be afraid to approach people, so I reached out to my local MSP and asked him if I could do work experience at his office during some planned annual leave I had. Someone else had recently cancelled their internship at the last minute and so there was a fortuitous opening for me. The role gave me great insights into politics and public affairs, and I really enjoyed it.”
What happened next?
“As soon as I put that experience on my CV, I started getting interview and job offers. However, I wasn’t sure these were the right roles for me and so I turned them down. Eighteen months after graduating I was offered a job at disability charity, Leonard Cheshire. It was for a Communications and Research Officer, which appealed because it combined communications and policy.
I never imagined that I would work in the charity sector. A lot of people used to say that they would never work for a charity and I sort of had that impression too, but looking back I can’t believe I ever thought that. I really enjoyed that job because it was so different and dynamic. It opened my eyes to social injustice and the challenges that people face. I quickly realised that the charity sector was right for me.
Working in this industry changed my character. I felt really supported in this job as there were a lot of people who saw good in me. It really helped my self-esteem as I’d had low confidence since my school days. I felt the weight being lifted off my shoulders.
I also started running during this time and I developed good discipline. As I said before, I used to give up easily, however I began to set myself fitness challenges and I would work towards achieving them. This is how I approach my career as well, as early on I knew I wanted to become Head of Communications at a mental health charity as it was a topic important to me.”
How did you become Head of Communications at Change Mental Health?
“I worked at Leonard Cheshire for 2 and a half years. If Covid didn’t happen, I think I’d have been there longer, however it made me realise that I’d made as much impact as I could in this role. Leonard Cheshire is a huge organisation with 5,500 members of staff and I knew my next role should be at a smaller charity. The challenges would be even greater but so would the career possibilities.
In June 2021 I became Communications Manager at disabled access website, Euan’s Guide. It was a really interesting role; however, the charity sector is small, and I’d heard that mental health charity, Change Mental Health (at the time it was Support in Mind Scotland), got a new CEO. It was someone I was familiar with at another organisation when working in the disability sector at Leonard Cheshire and I knew they would take the charity to a whole new level. I kept an eye on their recruitment and I saw that they were recruiting for a Head of Communications. I wondered whether it was too early to leave my current role, or perhaps too ambitious, but I thought why not apply and see what happens.
I knew that my line manager would be a former MSP which really appealed as I was interested in integrating communications with policy and public affairs. I was offered the role and joined the charity in February 2022. The first thing I was tasked with was to project manage a rebrand process – talk about throwing me in at the deep end!
It’s important to work for a charity for the right reasons, not for career advancement. Change Mental Health helps and supports people affected by mental illness across communities in Scotland. We place people at the heart of what we do. There are many people who work here who have lived experience of mental illness, my family also have this experience, and so this charity is important to me – particularly for the reasons why Change Mental Health started as a charity over 50 years ago.
I’m passionate about making a difference in Scotland for mental health, campaigning to challenge stigma, change attitudes and build a future where no one needs to face mental illness alone.”