The Duke of Edinburgh scheme laid the foundations of who I am today. Undertaking community service gave me a sense of pride in civic service - this shaped my values and beliefs and I am now working with global/FTSE 100 companies helping them to protect and promote the wellbeing of their staff. The opportunity to mentor young members of the scheme led to an early career in youth and social work and an interest in training which is now the bedrock of my career. The scheme is genuinely taxing, but the support and guidance of others helped me overcome these challenges, teaching me vital lessons about personal resilience. Having the fortitude to complete a part time PhD in 2018 comes in part, I am sure, from the well of self-belief and resilience that the DofE award instils. There are so many memories - one of them came from meeting Prince Edward (who was stepping in for Prince Philip) at the end of my residential week at Fountains Abbey (the photo is attached). It involved performing physically challenging work throughout the week but was an opportunity I would otherwise never have had. I was unfortunately a bit drunk on champagne and strawberries when I met Prince Edward and made a joke about spreading manure for the week! Thankfully, he laughed.