Building a Future in Heritage: Some Big News

I have some incredibly exciting news to share! Before I get into the details, I wanted to tell you a bit about how we got here along my slightly messy career path, the choices shaped (and derailed) by Covid, and why this moment feels so special. Today, I’ve taken a leap forward in building my future in heritage.

Setting sail: my plans before 2020

The disruption of all my plans

And then… 2020 happened.

In March, I was sent home from university like so many others. My dissertation was about making museums more accessible and inclusive (a topic I still care deeply about), and luckily I’d finished my in-person research just before lockdown.

But the summer’s research digs were cancelled or postponed indefinitely. And the idea of starting a Master’s remotely, away from archives, objects, and people… it just didn’t feel right. Almost overnight, the future I’d been building towards disappeared.

Drifting off course (but learning along the way)

For a while, I drifted. I taught English online, with a vague plan to move to Japan with the company. Then I took a marketing job, which somehow evolved into an operations role at a start-up.

That job turned into five years of my life. I worked hard, learned a lot, and became pretty good at it. However, deep down, it never felt like mine. I was pouring 40+ hours a week into something that didn’t make me proud, then staying up late to work on the things that did.

At the same time, I quietly kept building on my passions outside of work. It felt like I was living two separate lives: the job that paid the bills, and the projects that made me feel alive.

The turning point

Earlier this year, something clicked. In May, I had a meeting where it was made pretty clear that if I wanted to succeed in that job, I’d have to fundamentally change who I was. It hurt at the time but it was the push I needed.

Within a week, I handed in my notice. No backup plan, no next step lined up. But I was certain I couldn’t keep going like that.

The good news

Which brings me to the part I’m so excited to share:

🌟 I’ve just received my formal offer from UCL to study a Master’s in Cultural Heritage Studies with the Institute of Archaeology! 🌟

This feels like finally stepping back into the heritage world, a field I felt pushed out of in 2020.
I’m over the moon to be returning to what I love, and to bring new skills, ideas, and energy to both my studies and to Lighthouse Explorers.

What’s next?

I hope you’ll stick around to see where this new chapter takes us as there’s so much more I want to create, share, and explore with you all.

If you’d like to read more about what Lighthouse Explorers has been up to, you can find my other blogs here.

Here’s to new adventures, and finding our way back to what we love.