What’s your job title and how long have you worked at Loughborough?

I’m a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and I’ve been here nearly five years I think!

Tell us what a typical day in your job looks like?

I normally try to get up early and go to the gym at 6.30am. After snoozing my alarm multiple times I get up and walk down to Powerbase as I live close to campus. When I get home I’ll have breakfast and respond to some emails before heading to my office.

My day is taken up with a mixture of in-person and online meetings about different research projects I am working on, as well as meeting with project students and Doctoral Researchers I supervise. One of my favourite aspects of my role is that I get to meet with lots of enthusiastic students. Some days I will also need to prepare and deliver lectures, which I particularly enjoy.

I try to get back home for around 5.30pm so I can have dinner with my family. I’m also the Butler Court Warden so after I’ve put my daughter to bed I might have a bit of work-related stuff to do for that. I’ll then take my dog, Twigs, on a walk to destress before bed.

What’s your favourite project you’ve worked on?

This is a hard one as most projects, especially those that are research-based, are my favourite! I am lucky that I have a good amount of autonomy to pursue my passion – to understand how we can improve the quality of life of adults living with long-term conditions and disabilities.

What is your proudest moment at Loughborough?

Supporting my first Doctoral Researcher as a primary supervisor to successful completion. When I completed my PhD, I swore I would never put anyone through such an ordeal! However, I am currently supervising several Doctoral Researchers and watching them grow and do amazing things makes me immensely proud.

Tell us something you do outside of work that we might not know about?

I have four children that range in age from 4 years to 16 years. So you might see me on a Sunday climbing into the pool (rather unenthusiastically) with my youngest for her swimming lesson, which usually involves having water poured over my head with a pink watering can.

What is your favourite quote?

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

If you would like to feature in ‘5 Minutes With’, or you work with someone who you think would be great to include, please email Sadie Gration at S.Gration@lboro.ac.uk.