In 2021 I started at LCF as a careers consultant and joined the GEMs community, to be able to gain network amongst colleagues. Whilst engaging within GEMs, I was introduced to another community, SoN. It was there that I met Aisha Richards and embarked on my journey of becoming an academic amongst my peers whose ethics and life experiences mirrored mine.
SoN hosted a program, Teaching Within, which to my understanding, would enable me to have more of a holistic within my approach in embedding careers education into academia. Although not convinced that this program; boosting various alcaldes and the PG Cert qualification, was for me, I was encouraged to apply to be considered for a place.
I thoroughly enjoyed the vigorous selection process, consisting of rounds of elimination: an application, a response to an article, a microteaching activity and an interview with an esteemed panel. The process enabled me to identify that social justice was at my core and was a major part of my vocation. Realising that I had to use my practice to elevate the values of anti-racism and accessibility for my students.
To my disbelief, I was accepted and set to start in September 2022!
Never considering myself an academic and frequently experiencing imposter syndrome, within my job, I saw that by investing into my understanding of terms and theories, I am an academic. Now possessing an appreciation of how this the fundamentals of teaching and learning feed into my practice: careers education, as an academic.