Although I'm trained as a media teacher, I applied for my current role, which required no specialist skills, with the aim of learning as much as I could whilst doing my day to day tasks. Friends had told me that Arup was a great company for learning and development opportunities.

Since starting, I've formally advanced to a higher grade, but the development has been much more significant than a simple promotion and I've learnt so much outside the original scope of my role. My department leads the way in digital building modelling (BIM) so I've learnt how to use scanning and modelling software to create complete building models. Having never previously used this software before, I’m now one of my department’s leading experts.

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For me, it feels like I belong to an organisation that wants to make a difference, we have our slogan ‘shaping a better world’, and although to an outsider, this could appear cliched, we all do try and live by it. ”

I think my proudest achievement here was a project called Hupla. This was a collaboration with Imagineer Productions and schools across Coventry to create an art installation based on STEM principles. The finished result was a steel cable frame which held a thousand hula hoops decorated by the schools. I worked with the schools, the Cathedral and a team from Arup to design the structure, perform all of the safety and load calculations, and then finally oversaw the 18-hour build process.

I’ve found my managers very supportive at Arup. I’m allowed to manage my own workload which was important for me and this has helped me to learn new skills. I’ve also received considerable flexibility to meet my specific needs. As I have Muscular Dystrophy, I'm a full-time wheelchair user, and I have an assistant with me most of the time. The company’s facilities team ensured that my needs were met before I started work, and I've found that whenever I visit other offices, checks are made to ensure that I can access the location.

Outside of work, I’m a director of a family company which produces and sells disability aids and Arup agreed to my having a part-time contract to allow me to continue supporting this venture.