When did you leave Chesterton Community College?

I was at Chesterton between 2008 and 2013.

What is your current job title or field?

I currently work in Real Estate, specifically Urban Development. I work in a Property Consultancy in London and my title is Associate. I specialise in Social Impact, which means that I work with the private sector (developers, house builders and investors) as well as the public sector (local authorities, the NHS and other public organisations) to think about how new urban development – such as homes, infrastructure and other building forms – can create benefits to society. We think about things such as community spaces, environmental sustainability, new jobs for local people and educational opportunities for local young people. 

Did you know as a teenager which career you wanted to pursue or did you come to realise this later on?

I have always loved cities, the spaces between buildings and the concept of urban regeneration! We learned about this in Geography GCSE, such as in case studies like the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the Regeneration of East London. 

However, careers in this area are not self-evident, so I decided to first study Architectural Studies at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, before specialising in Regeneration. My degree was very broad and interdisciplinary, which gave me the chance to learn more about Urban Planning, Urban Geography and other creative subjects, which enabled me to pivot into my career once I finished. 

How did you start on your career?

When I left Hills Road, I studied BSC Architectural and Interdisciplinary Studies. After my second year, I decided to pause my education and worked for a year in a Housing Association in East London. This gave me some real experience of regeneration, and a better understanding of some of the pressures and challenges when trying to deliver projects. 

I then finished my degree, took some time to reset and worked out what I wanted to do. In 2020 I started working for Hackney Council in London, in Area Regeneration. This included delivering projects such as community gardens, public art projects as well as finding sites for new housing development. I was at Hackney when the pandemic hit, so I was also working with local businesses to support them with grants. I left Hackney after 3 years and joined Montagu Evans where I work now.

What do you like about your job? 

I work on some really exciting projects, from big science districts through to famous London skyscrapers. In each project, I have the freedom and creativity to work with my clients to develop new ideas suited to that place. Often this means talking directly with local people and businesses to learn what that place needs and how we could create new opportunities. 

What is the first advice you would give a student wanting to follow in this direction?

Cities and urban spaces have incredible power to shape people’s lives for the better, and there are thousands of jobs which contribute to the design, construction, management and regeneration of them. However, these career paths are not well known or advertised. People tend to think of the traditional paths of architecture, real estate agency and town planning, but there are so many more opportunities that are really exciting. There are fantastic degree routes, as well as apprenticeships.

Get a bit of work experience if you can, but most importantly just look around the places where you live and realise that people make decisions that impact your life, work and play – and that could be you in the future. Be confident and go for the opportunities you want to have!