Meet our people: Lucy, UK STEM Education and Charitable Partnerships Manager
Lucy, UK STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) Education and Charitable Partnerships Manager, tells us how
she found her passion for powering the next generation of innovators.
Lucy, STEM Education and Charitable Partnerships Manager, UK
2020 was always set to be a momentous year for Lucy, who had planned
to marry her fiancé in a ceremony in July. Of course, the coronavirus
crisis unfortunately unpicked her plans and presented her with a whole
new set of challenges. Lucy tells us how GSK’s STEM education programmes
are working to support teachers and empower young people to discover
STEM and their career path through the coronavirus crisis and beyond.
When did your passion for STEM education begin?
I’ve been at GSK for four years and have been on
the STEM Education team for just over two of those. Previously I did a
sponsored degree, so I was working for a company who covered my tuition
fees and paid me a salary, meaning I could graduate with zero student
debt whilst starting my professional career from day one. But I very
easily could have never known that opportunity existed! It just so
happened that my mum read a newspaper article on sponsored degrees.
That’s where my passion has come from; I want to ensure that young
people are given lots of opportunities and are informed enough to know
that they don’t have to just go into university or go straight into a
career – there are apprenticeships for leavers, there is university if
that’s the right option for you – but also there are so many other
different things out there. I also want to show young people the range
of opportunities and careers that STEM can bring – it’s not just about
wearing a lab coat. It’s about being as informed as you can be about
your career choices.
Lucy and GSK volunteers at The Big Bang – UK’s largest celebration of STEM for young people
What are you working on at the moment?
Before COVID, we were working on redeveloping our STEM Education
website; we have a large number of resources for teachers, providing
lesson plans, student worksheets and guidance for leading STEM-centered
workshops. However, we’ve recognised the need for resources that are
targeted directly at students to support their learning at school and at
home.
As a result, we’re now developing a dedicated student zone on our
STEMeducation website, which features a range of online quizzes and
interactive games. We’re hoping the student zone will engage students
and reach them directly, encouraging them with home learning, and
through working with our partners and other STEM programmes, build the
STEM experiences and knowledge (STEM capital) of young people across the
UK.
What is something surprising about your role?
The variety of skills that I have to apply – I might be managing an
event with 80,000 attendees, designing materials for our 450+ STEM
ambassadors or making an animation for social media, through to working
closely with our impactful charities and copywriting for campaigns.
Having a supportive team has helped so much when it’s busy. We have a
mutual trust that I appreciate and has been great while everyone has
worked remotely.
Lucy with her wider team on a strategy team building day – pre-COVID!
What motivates you every day?
Scientists at GSK are positively impacting the lives of patients all
the time but, while I’m not a scientist, what’s so rewarding in my role
is that I’m supporting educators, students and charities to inspire the
young people who will be the STEM innovators of the future.