The Story of Megan Uttley

I’m inspired by those that are able to overcome boundaries. Be it geographical, society, gender, physical health or mental health many deals with these hurdles and live to tell the tale.

I come from a blue-collar background where expectations were of a minimum. After being told at the tender age of 10 I wasn’t smart enough to attend the local grammar school I attended my local comprehensive school. My high school was typical of the north of England – behaviour management was prioritised over academic achievement, but unlike most of my peers, I balanced my school work with a part-time job so I kept my head down instead of causing trouble. As this was an uncommon trait, my teachers decided to accelerate my progression through high school and resulted in me finishing high school a year ahead of my peer group.

Fast-forward two years and I found it very hard when applying to universities as the only people I knew with a degree was my school teachers. I had no idea what opportunities were out there so my parents gave me great advice – just follow what you are good at and enjoy, and the rest will come. This resulted in me choosing to do a degree in chemistry at the University of Manchester. My undergrad opened my eyes to what the world had to offer and inspired my love of applying chemistry to further our understanding of the disease. But as I finished my undergrad I was very anxious about what to do next. I developed the ethos of applying for lots of things and let them decided if you are qualified enough.

Many applications and some horrendous interviews later, I was encouraged to apply for a PhD as I had really enjoyed my research projects. Expecting to obtain a 2.1 I had always considered a PhD too out of reach – I was under the illusion it was something that only the top students could do. However, following a conversation with my now supervisor I found out that more than academic achievement gets you through a PhD – work ethic and resilience do.

I am now a third-year PhD student doing research that fascinates me. Looking back the decision to ignore expectations and follow what I was good at and enjoyed, were paramount to getting to this point in my life.