(L-R) Mark Graham; Georgina Mortimer; Lizzie Salter; Elodie Lawley; Tom Clarke; Rahul Choudhury; Emma Taylor; Tumi Sotire; Gabriel Benthall

Young medical alumni come together to share career insights

Over 70 students from Medical Sciences were recently inspired by the huge range of career paths open to them, thanks to eight alumni volunteers giving their time to a special event. 

The event, organised by Dr. Emma Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Medical Sciences and Academic Lead for Careers and Employability, featured eight alumni volunteers who visited to speak at the event, all of whom were recent graduates working in a range of different careers:

• Ruhul Choudhury (Bachelor of Clinical Science 2013) - PhD student, Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, University of Manchester
• Elodie Lawley (Bachelor of Clinical Science 2014) - Trials Coordinator/Research Associate, King’s College London
• Mark Graham (Bachelor Clinical Science 2014) - PhD student, University of Bristol
• Lizzie Salter (Bachelor of Clinical Science 2013) - Staff nurse, Major Trauma Unit, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham
• Tumi Sotire (BSc Medical Sciences 2015) - Masters student in Health Economics, University of York
• Tom Clarke (BSc Bachelor of Clinical Science 2013) - PhD student, University of Birmingham
• Georgina Mortimer (Bachelor of Clinical Science 2014) - Research Technician, University of Bristol
• Gabriel Benthall (Bachelor of Clinical Science 2014) - Research Associate, UCB

Many students turned up to listen to the alumni speak about life after graduation – everything from postgraduate study, graduate entry medicine, careers in research, and how to pursue careers outside of medicine and science. The alumni also revealed how they secured their first job after graduation, what their typical day is like, and what ambitions they have in the future.

All alumni at the event testified to the importance of undertaking a professional training year as part of their degree, which they said gave them an invaluable opportunity to experience an industry which they were interested in, and helped them when choosing what to do after completing their degree.

Are you interested in offering your expertise to support our undergraduate students? We are always looking for alumni volunteers from all walks of life who would be willing to share their experience. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact alumni@exeter.ac.uk

Date: 3 November 2016