Lizzie Ward

I started studying at Edge Hill as a Geography undergraduate back in 2017. I had a passion for discovering motivations, values and meanings of a sense of place and why people came together to support, maintain and build such spaces around them. It was during my time at this university that I discovered my passions could become a career opportunity to thrive in. During my degree I was able to research, learn and begin to practice what a career could look like with following this passion and it gave me the confidence and the skills to do so.

My favourite thing about studying Geography at Edge Hill was being able to learn about the world around me and begin to engage with people to grow my confidence as a human geographer. Through fieldwork, research and practical elements of the modules, I was able to not just learn a subject but begin to participate and be active with how these topics presented in real-life. That pushed me out of my comfort zone but was the best thing I did during my time here.

Careers week would always terrify me as I didn’t consider myself wanting to go down a “traditional” career route, especially when my passions were within the third sector. At the time non-profit careers were still quite unknown and still are, but I knew it was something I was wanting to land within. Edge Hill supported me with this and guided me through interview practices, employment and voluntary opportunities and when I did find employment, were able to support me in the work-study balance.

After struggling for a long time with my mental health, I realised that the most important thing I could do was follow my passions and find a purpose through doing something I loved. I wanted a job that gave back to community, and which enabled me to make social impact within my own neighbourhoods but also others. For a long time, I started saying “yes” to the things that I would typically be too scared to do but that felt like great opportunities. I have always loved heritage, community and being creative and being able to do all of these things each day fills me with pride.

[Within my current role] I work with cultural organisations and communities across the world to discover stories, objects and memories which have the potential to connect others together. Each day is so different from working with these people to create, connect and discover to working within my own team at National Museums Liverpool to get these projects out there for the world to access. I manage an amazing team who are in the heart of communities each day with these programmes and discovering the impact they have.

The advice I would give to someone considering studying Geography at Edge Hill is to have an open mind. As a teenager starting Edge Hill, to a young professional leaving, I changed so much through what I had discovered, and it is ok to find other paths you may not have considered before.

Thank you to the Geography and Social Science department for the support you have given me and for continuing to celebrate my own achievements as an alumni.