I was interested in Mathematics from a young age. During my A levels, I decided I wanted to become an actuary, and so I applied for the MORSE (Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics) four-year degree at the University of Warwick. As I progressed through this course, I realised that an actuarial job was not for me, and the parts of the course I found interesting were the statistical modules. I therefore decided to do a PhD in Statistics, and after considering staying at Warwick to do this, or moving to Oxford, I finally settled on a move to Lancaster University. As I neared the end of my PhD, I had to decide between staying in the academic world and getting a ‘real’ job. The University of Manchester advertised for a post-doctoral position, which sounded ideal as, despite being a research job, had many industrial connections, giving me exposure to both worlds. After doing this for a year, I decided that the freedom of the academic world was right for me, and I was fortunate enough to get a lectureship at Lancaster University.