My Future in Five
Ana Cristina left Mexico City to follow in her father’s footsteps and study for a Master’s at a university in the UK. As a mature student who’d been passionate about food and science from an early age, Ana embraced the lifestyle at NRI and quickly bonded with her much younger housemates. Ana took five minutes out of her day to Skype with Communications Officer Linden Kemkaran on what she learned, and what she’s doing now.
Bernard Essel came to NRI in 2015 to study for an MSc in Sustainable Environment Management. Originally from Ghana, he grew up with a fascination for technology and a dream of becoming a civilian airline pilot. Bernard took five minutes out of his day to Skype with NRI Communications Officer, Linden Kemkaran, on how he now spends his days flying, but not quite in the way he’d imagined.
Gloria Adeyiga left Ghana for the first time in 2009 to study in the UK at NRI, for her Master’s in Natural Resources Management. A big believer in gender equality, Gloria now spends her time back in Ghana working on land restoration and encouraging more women to become actively engaged and share their expertise. Gloria took five minutes out of her day to Skype with NRI Communications Officer Linden Kemkaran to describe how she is making a difference.
Mark Parnell is a veteran of NRI. He first donned his lab coat in 1990 to work as an invertebrate pathologist, went on to complete the first Masters course in Sustainable Agriculture run by NRI and is now NRI’s Commercial Manager. A childhood dream of being a weatherman almost became reality, but he turned down the Met Office to pursue a career in biological sciences. Mark took five minutes out of his day to Skype with NRI Communications Officer, Linden Kemkaran, about what he’s learnt during his 30 years at NRI and how, if given the opportunity, he wouldn’t change a thing.
Mature student Purity Hrisca wanted to progress up the food industry career ladder so she studied at NRI for a Master’s in Food Safety and Quality Management. A self-confessed “foodie”, Purity admits she’s come a long way from her childhood dream of being a news anchor or an air hostess. Now with an MSc under her belt, Purity took five minutes out of her day to Skype with NRI Communications Officer, Linden Kemkaran, to talk about her ambition to empower people through teaching them how to cook from scratch.
Stephen Doso Jnr graduated from NRI in 2013 after taking a Master's Degree in Sustainable Environmental Management (now Global Environmental Change). Studying at the University of Greenwich brought him to Europe for the first time and while it wasn’t all plain sailing, he persevered and ended up gaining a Distinction. Stephen took five minutes out of his day in Ghana to have a Skype call with NRI Communications Officer, Linden Kemkaran and talk about how NRI made him “up his game” and how this now stands him in good stead for his career.
Jessica Sanders graduated from the University of Greenwich in 2018 with a first class degree in Geography BSc (Hons). She trained to be a teacher but found the pull of university life too strong, and now works at Greenwich’s Medway campus as an Employability Officer. Jessica took five minutes out of her day to talk to NRI Communications Officer, Linden Kemkaran about her love of Geography, her passion for dancing and what it’s like to be back in student-land…
Katie James has a degree in Environmental Science from the University of Greenwich and is currently a PhD student at NRI. Between school and university, she did “a bit of everything” until realising that the natural sciences were “actually a thing”, and could be the gateway to a fulfilling career. Katie took five minutes out of her day to sit down with NRI Communications Officer Linden Kemkaran to chat about how it all began, and her determination to give something back.
Harrison Lambert studied for his undergraduate degree at NRI and after exploring a few different career avenues, he has just returned to study for his PhD. A life-long lover of the natural world, Harrison wanted a career that combined ecology (the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings), agriculture, and helping those in need. He took five minutes out of his day to talk to Communications Officer Linden Kemkaran about why returning to NRI feels like “coming home” and how to him, NRI experts are among the “rock stars of the science world”.
Connor Nicholls is studying for his undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at NRI. He took five minutes out of his day to talk to Communications Officer, Linden Kemkaran, about how NRI ‘re-lit’ his enthusiasm for studying, and his obsession with all things Mayan.
NRI alumnus Dr Aliyu A Turaki, a senior lecturer at Kebbi State University of Science & Technology in Nigeria, returned to NRI on 9th December on a visit as part of a research collaboration and to give a seminar entitled ‘Identifying mealybug species affecting yam crops across northern Nigeria’. Turaki credits NRI for laying the foundations for his successful career in the department of crop production at the Nigerian University. He says that studying at NRI for his PhD transformed his life, and he took five minutes out of his busy schedule to talk to NRI Communications Officer, Linden Kemkaran.
Jaspher Ewany successfully completed his one-year course at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, where he studied for a MSc in Agriculture for Sustainable Development. He took five minutes out of his day to talk to NRI Communications Officer, Linden Kemkaran, about his time here at the University and how he now makes a ‘song and dance’ out of agriculture...
NRI has a fantastic reputation for research and for teaching agricultural sciences, and that was what persuaded me to come here. I was originally awarded the Marshall Papworth Scholarship to study an MSc. Agriculture and Development at the University of Reading, but NRI’s excellent reputation played a huge role in my decision to choose NRI at the University of Greenwich instead. I also wanted to be part of the most prestigious scholarship in the world, the UK Commonwealth Scholarship, which I was subsequently awarded to study at Greenwich.