Maria is originally from Spain and moved to the UK with her Mum and siblings when she was 10 years old. She describes this time as extremely difficult: “I had quite a tough childhood, having moved over we didn’t have anywhere to live, so to start with we lived with my grandparents in a two-bedroom flat”. After this, she moved around quite a lot until her family was assigned housing in Somerset. “It was quite a scary place to live for someone so young and having moved over from Spain. So as you can imagine, it was a bit chaotic, it was a bit disadvantaged, and it wasn’t the best upbringing.” Whilst Maria shared the challenges she faced growing up she does have positive memories of her childhood: “I had a happy upbringing outside of the difficulties that we had financially“.
I wanted to go to university and be the first in my family to do that. And just get myself out of the situation that I was in and work towards a better future.
During our interview with Maria, it was clear that she has always had a passion for education and languages. It was a way for her to change her social situation. This drive helped Maria become the first member of her family to attend university. “I wanted to go to university and be the first in my family to do that. And just get myself out of the situation that I was in and work towards a better future. Which is what I did.” Learning English at a young age provided her with a strong foundation to explore other languages and cultures.
After completing her degree, Maria was unsure about the type of career she wanted to pursue: “I didn’t really know what was out there until I started working or applying for jobs. It was later on in my career that I started to really focus on what I was passionate about and started working out what I really wanted to do to be honest.” Uncertainty post-university is a common obstacle that many graduates have to overcome, like them, Maria’s journey was full of ups and downs.
Before the Environmental Leadership Programme (ELP) she was working as a project manager at a translation company, she describes this role as “very fast paced, and just really stressful”. This being her first role since university, Maria felt she had to stick at it. The ELP gave her the opportunity to explore a career change. This was the start of her transition into the sustainability sector.
Maria discussed that she was experiencing eco-anxiety at the time, she had an overall feeling of hopelessness at the state of the environment and the climate crisis. Taking part in the ELP helped Maria address her well-being as she was contributing to climate action: “I think also, at the time, really important for me, I was suffering a little bit with eco-anxiety, and just job anxiety in general. So I was really worried about the environment and what was going on around me, and I really wanted to be able to do something.”
I was really worried about the environment and what was going on around me, and I really wanted to be able to do something.
When describing her time on the programme, Maria shared that it helped to give her the confidence, knowledge, and skills that she needed to work out what it was that her next career move was going to be. It also ignited Maria’s passion for sustainability: “I think the fact that the programme was so focused on environmental sustainability as well, made me realise that I had a really, really big passion for this. And that I wanted to have a positive impact on the world.” The skills and knowledge Maria was able to gain through her participation in the programme contributed to a transition from her language background into a role in sustainability.
The fact that the programme was so focused on environmental sustainability as well, made me realise that I had a really, really big passion for this.
Since the ELP Maria has utilised her skills to bring sustainable practices to the NHS. She works in the South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit to contribute to the better running of the NHS. “I work in transformation, so trying to make the NHS services work better, I’m specialising at the moment in sustainability, so environmental sustainability”. Maria is proof that you do not need an academic background in sustainability or the environment to make a positive environmental difference in the world. Her drive to make change and pursue her passion helped her realise that you don’t need to have an environmental sustainability background, or need to have gained a technical or scientific degree. Maria story shares empowering evidence that with support, young people can find ways to change the path their careers are on: “you can start in one place, and end up in a very different place.”
I work in transformation, so trying to make the NHS services work better, I’m specialising at the moment in sustainability, so environmental sustainability.