Through the eyes of a geologist

On the 14th November, a colleague and myself attended the Women in Mining Conference based at K&L Gates. It was an annual education event, giving students an insight into potential careers in mining and resources. The first lady to speak was Froydis Cameron, an inspiration successful geologist, whom empowered her audience that evening. The main aspects I took away from Froydis's speech, as she gave us a brief overview of her education and career so far, was to listen to yourself and make decisions that are best for you, and most importantly never be afraid to ask for help. It's comforting to hear that from a professional with such a diverse and successful career. As a geology undergraduate, it didn't occur to me that the mining industry would need anthropologists, biologists and medics just to name a few. The diversity of skills within the mining industry from both men and women is it's success, where there is no longer this perception of just men in the workplace.

Last weekend, the University of Leicester Trampoline Club, including myself, competed at the Manchester Open 2013. It was my first time competing, so yes I was nervous! My first routine went well, but the second less so, think the nerves got to me. It was a great experience, and now I know it's not that bad, I will be competing more often. It was a great turn out and we ended the Saturday off with a pyjama party with all the competing universities. Team Leicester I am off home for Christmas now, but my trampoline is up in the garden, ready for practise!

Yesterday, I finished my training and have become a fully qualified Leicester Student Ambassador! It’s a highly competitive by casual role, great for balancing between studies and work. A few hundred applicants applied, where they were aiming to hire 70-80 Ambassadors. At first, we had to apply via an application form which gets graded, then had to attend a selection event at university. Before attending, it was very daunting, but my mum reminded me to just be myself, so I did! The first training we received, we were placed in groups and given real life scenarios Ambassadors have come across in previous years. It was really interesting with regards to what questions and situations Ambassadors have been in before. We discussed how we would approach the situation in hand, and then we got told how it was actually handled. The following week, we received Campus Tour Training. In groups of 6 or 7, we gave our group a mini tour, where each of us got given an area to talk about. I