“I arrived at Bangor in 2007, situated in Cefn Y Coed, fresh from the seaside town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. A long drive through northern England, and through north Wales brought me to Bangor in a sunny September.
I studied psychology with neuropsychology, graduating with a 2:1 degree in 2010. I loved the course, especially enjoying the evolutionary psychology module, and the amazing people I met. The weekly Psychology Oral Presentation Skills sessions, or POPS as we called them, helped build my confidence in public speaking. Grappling with the new software in the Mac Lab always resulted in some sort of technological mishap or glitch. And the late nights cramming for an exam in my dorm or submitting an essay before the deadline were filled with snacks and youthful enthusiasm.
The nightlife was always interesting, and usually accompanied by some sort of fancy dress theme. I collected an array of costumes - usually involving some sort of fluorescent garment or two - and on one occasion I even sat an exam the day after a Halloween party when my hair was still back combed and dyed pink whilst being terribly hungover (do not recommend!) A frequent dress up option was the student saver classic of "create an outfit from bin bags." Scented and coloured bin bags were fun and vibrant, whilst black heavy-duty bags made for a slightly more timeless look.
In second year I lived in a house near the pier with eight friends, six girls and three boys. The outfit choices were endless, and we spent many an afternoon strolling down the pier for scones, or planning the next big night out.
In third year I moved to a smaller house on Caellepa with three friends, and although there were less wardrobes to raid, we had just as much fun. From barbecues on Bangor Mountain overlooking the beautiful city, to cosy nights in playing Singstar on the PlayStation, or the sweaty ascent to the Main Arts building for lectures, we had an amazing time. Also during my third year was when Radio 1's Big Weekend came to Bangor. We managed to get tickets, and saw Florence and the Machine headline, along with performances by Dizzy Rascal, Scouting for Girls, Alicia Keys and Cheryl Cole.
After university I lived in Australia for two years, working and travelling, and spent a year travelling through Southeast Asia. I returned to the UK and spent several years working for Greater Manchester Police as an emergency call handler - a job I dreamed of doing ever since I fell in love with Michael Burke's "999 What's Your Emergency?" series in the 90s.
I joined the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in 2018 where I've spent the past five years working to protect and uphold information rights for the UK public. I completed intelligence work crucial to the ICO's implementation of the Children's code in 2022, and undertook strategic work relevant to surveillance and biometric data. Currently, I work as a senior policy officer in the area of digital regulation, coordinating work between the ICO and the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF).
As for my personal life, I live in a town in Cheshire with my partner of 9 years and our four year old son. I love reading and writing, walking, running and the gym, gardening, and a good old Netflix binge.
As for my housemates.... Alex is now a veterinary assistant - her dream job that is a world away from her degree in English! Kelly went on to do a masters degree at Swansea, and a PhD at Southampton, and is now a clinical psychologist specialising in patients with brain injury and functional neurological disorders. MD did a masters degree in occupational psychology at the University of London, and is now a Customer Success Project Director at Great Places to Work and a part time wedding photographer. Christina gained experience in recruitment and is now the Global Marketing Manager for CSG Talent, using her psychology skills to understand behaviour in relation to customer experience.
14 years since graduating, and I still look back fondly at my time at Bangor. I'm eternally grateful for the amazing friends I made and the experiences I had whilst studying there, and look forward to visiting again in the future and showing my son where his mummy went to "grown up school." "