After spending my school years thinking that working in a lab was my future path, I sat on the apron at Heathrow airport and saw a Singapore Airlines plane out of my window.

Astounded by the size, I noted the name ‘Airbus A380’ and looked it up as soon as I got home. From there, an interest in plane spotting sparked. This curiosity grew from recognising aircraft features to wanting to understand how some of the world’s busiest runways were managed, such as Gatwick Airport. My final eureka moment was sitting in a hospital lab during work experience. The window was facing the runway at Southend Airport and an easyJet aircraft took off and soared above me; I knew instantly my passion was lifelong and that my career was meant to be in aviation.

Whilst studying Aviation Technology and Management BSc at the University of Leeds, our learning covered a broad range of topics such as pilot theory, airport operations, airline finances and aircraft engineering. During my degree, I completed an Industrial Placement at NATS as a Safety Performance Analyst. My job role was responsible for producing imperative safety reports and dashboards for a wide range of internal customers and to the regulator. I then went to the Heathrow tower as a Safety Support Specialist to expand the visibility of the unit’s safety performance and culture, in between necessary trips to the top of the tower.

After graduating into a worldwide pandemic, I began my journey as a Business Insights Analyst at Air Navigation Solutions Ltd. Within my role, I develop data-driven insights from thorough analysis and interactive reports, dashboards, and visualisations within PowerBI. The company manages the traffic at Gatwick Airport, one of the world’s busiest single runways, and Edinburgh, Scotland’s largest airport. I therefore have achieved one of my aforementioned goals in this role, and have developed many more.

Aviation is a diverse and mind-blowing industry and I look forward to the long career I have within it.