The Sutton Trust, Saints Sport and a ‘squiggly’ career path
Collette Norval (née Oliver) (MA 2013) had her sights set on St Andrews since her first experience of the University during summer holidays as a child. She shares her experience of the Sutton Trust Summer School, finding her place in Saints Sport and her varied career path post-graduation.
Growing up in Scotland, like many families from Glasgow, we spent many of our school holidays and summer day trips in St Andrews. The town has always felt like a second home to me and even from a young age, I would watch students going to and from lectures and say to my mum and dad, ‘I want to go to university here’. That was usually met with some caution from my parents, who would always remind me of the prestige of St Andrews and how I’d have to ‘work really hard at school’ to get a place here.
The route to St Andrews
In my penultimate year at secondary school – a state school on the outskirts of Glasgow – my guidance teacher approached me with an opportunity to take part in a summer school programme at the University of St Andrews in partnership with The Sutton Trust, a charity that champions social mobility through programmes, research and policy influence. The summer school programme was designed for young people from less advantaged backgrounds who would be the first generation in their family to go to university, giving them access to some of the country’s leading institutions.
I was accepted onto the programme and spent a week during the summer holidays exploring St Andrews, attending academic taster sessions, staying in halls of residence and meeting like-minded young people from across the UK. This experience cemented my decision to apply to the University, and I was ultimately accepted to study Modern Languages upon completion of my final year at school.
Before starting university, I gained a place on a unique leadership development programme with one of Scotland’s most notable entrepreneurs and philanthropists, Sir Tom Hunter, and The Hunter Foundation. I deferred my place at St Andrews for one year while I immersed myself in all things entrepreneurship, leadership, travel, business and social impact – this experience would ultimately shape my career post-university.
I loved my time at St Andrews from the very beginning – the learning environment, living day-to-day in the town and meeting friends in my first-year halls who have remained lifelong friends.
Being closer to home than many of my fellow students meant I could travel back to Glasgow to see friends and family whenever I wanted. In hindsight, this meant that I didn’t get as involved in the social side of things as much as I could have in the early days.
Saints Sport family
In my third year, as part of my degree, I spent a year teaching English in a school in Italy. It was one of those ‘out of my comfort zone’ life experiences, full of adventure, new friendships and lots of amazing memories. On returning from that year, during which I fully immersed myself in the experience, I decided to really embrace university life for my final two years and found my Saints Sport family in the Women’s Football Club. The club was welcoming to players of all levels and abilities, and I clicked with everyone right away. I became involved in the committee, serving in various roles from Sponsorship Rep to Alumni Rep. I was also the designated minibus driver, which was fun, if a little nervy at times!
One of my proudest achievements was winning the Captain’s Player of the Year award in my final season; an award not always given to the best player on the team but usually in recognition of team spirit, positive attitude and always showing up. These are characteristics I believe I’ve taken with me beyond university, and the trophy still sits proudly today on my home-office desk.
A ‘squiggly’ career path
My career post-university was shaped by another scholarship programme that I was part of during my time at St Andrews. In the summer before my final year, I was offered an internship with a multi-national oil and gas organisation in partnership with a charity called The Saltire Foundation (now part of Entrepreneurial Scotland). Saltire’s mission is to support the next generation of Scotland’s leaders by providing world-class internship programmes for students at Scottish universities. Following a successful internship in Houston, Texas, my host company offered me a place on their graduate programme in Aberdeen.
Since then, my ‘squiggly’ career has spanned oil and gas, manufacturing, social enterprise, financial services and, most recently, technology. I’m very much a generalist and have pivoted many times so far throughout my career. Many of the opportunities I’ve had have stemmed from relationships and networks I’ve built and nurtured over the years – most notably from my experiences at St Andrews and the subsequent leadership and fellowship programmes I’ve been part of since.
My time at St Andrews led to a series of dots that have joined up throughout my life to create what has been an exciting, purpose-filled and impactful career so far. I’m grateful for the lessons and experiences I had as a student that have shaped the person I am today.