Bel Sherlock

“I want to work here for at least another year, because I'm contracted for a few more months, and by that time I'll hopefully have started training a couple of people on the graduate placement scheme. And – I'm sure you'll understand this from working with Fusion - it really matters to me that I get to spend a year or so working with them, and helping them get really good at their role.”

“One of the things Gabriel kept saying to us (during training for the lead team) was its about a legacy: what you leave. Particularly as student work is so fast-flowing and transient, you have to create a spark of something that'll last after you've moved on...”

“I don't think I quite got my head around what Fusion was about,” (yes, she really said that. I did suggest other people might see it differently!) “Sometimes it didn't feel like there was that much accountability when I was leading cell, and its not great, but I found it hard to be motivated, to keep building something strong enough to hand on... So I don't think I 'got' that.

But I get it now: build something that'll last. And actually, that time could have been so different if I'd realised I needed help enough to actually ask for it. The other thing I've really learned is that I can stick to my guns and get more support when I need it.”

“When I started this job I didn't really get any hand-over, and I was a bit uncertain, so it was difficult to find my feet at first. And I don't want that to happen to my successors. I want to train them really well; I want to take time to make sure they can do the job; and pass on the useful things I've learned. It'll take a bit longer, but I'd really like to spend a bit of extra time training one of them to do my job of training and mentoring the new graduates; because then I'll know the department will keeps running really well when I leave.”