I grew up in Newham (East London) where I studied Maths, Chemistry, and Physics at A-Level. In year 12 I still wasn’t sure what to do after school, so for Sixth Form I picked the subjects which I enjoyed the most during my GCSEs and which I thought would open many doors for me in the future. I also studied Economics in my 1st year of Sixth Form to keep my options open, however, after completing the In2ScienceUK programme, I decided to pursue a career in STEM and thus, I only completed Economics to AS-Level.
I was in the 2016 In2ScienceUK cohort where my placement was at the UCL Ear institute. I shadowed a team of PhD students whose research was based on Neurocognitive Functions; thus, I had the opportunity to visit a Brain Sciences laboratory and work across a few different projects. The highlight of my work placement was carrying out an Electroencephalogram (EEG) as you can see in the photograph attached to this blogpost (Fun Fact: This photograph has been on the UCL Brain Sciences page for the past 4 years!).
I was also introduced to the programming software MATLAB which I now use in almost every module in my degree (Biomedical Engineering). It was only once I started university that I realised how much of a head-start I had gained due to my placement at In2ScienceUK – How cool right?!
I am now in my 4th year of Biomedical Engineering (On the Integrated Masters Programme) at King’s College London. Although my course has been challenging, it has been very rewarding, and I’ve enjoyed every aspect of university! Alongside my studies, I have joined several societies and sports clubs, completed an internship in Hong Kong & been awarded a King’s Experience Award.
In2ScienceUK has motivated me to help students who wish to study at University, particularly STEM subjects, but do not have the academic or financial support to do so.
My advice for sixth-form students is to eagerly seek opportunities and put yourself out there! You miss 100% of the chances you don’t take, so why not try what you can?
I wish you all the best!
Isabella Trujillo-Cortes
If you have previously taken part in the In2scienceUK programme and would like to share your experience and where you are now with the rest of the In2scienceUK community, then get in touch with us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!