School of Social & Environmental Sustainability

Anthony's Story

Anthony joined the Health & Social Sector Leadership programme in 2015. Originally from Dumfries, he graduated from the programme and went on to complete a Masters degree in Global Health. He is now a Research Assistant with the National Centre for Resilience (NCR), working with local organisations to uncover how our environments shape our personal resilience to life’s challenges.

Throughout his programme, Anthony made strong connections with his lecturers and classmates;

“I don’t think you can get the support and mentorship you get here anywhere else. The small class sizes meant I got to know everyone really well, and more importantly my lecturers knew me. When an opportunity arose that matched with my interests, my lecturers actually reached out to me about it. The connections I made during my time here were incredible and opened up so many opportunities for me and my future career.”

Anthony was able to study not only his core courses, but a selection of others from across different degree programmes;

“It’s a real positive of the programme. Being able to meet new people and uncover fresh perspectives on issues gives a real depth to our class discussions. I was able to take new courses that I hadn’t considered before, and I particularly enjoyed the environmental science options.”

During his final year on the programme, Anthony secured a paid internship with the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group, an internationally renowned research network based at the Dumfries Campus. He was able to match up his internship with his final year dissertation, and worked closely with academics on new, emerging research being conducted by the group.

“My internship experience was second-to-none. It was amazing for my professional development and building my confidence and skills. Getting to meet the team and work on actual on-going research being published by the group was really exciting. Everyone was so welcoming and supportive, and it encouraged me to take those next steps to my Masters study.”

Once Anthony completes his work with the NCR, he is hoping to go on to further study with a PhD studentship.

“This programme gave me such a strong understanding of the role policy plays within our social and health sectors. I’ve learned how to examine how each piece of the puzzle fits together, to explore the whole picture and then see the gaps of where our systems can be improved. I’m now working in my chosen field and can see my work making a difference, so going on to complete further research is the next logical step for me.”