Question: what intrests you?

Tori Blakeman answered on 11 Mar 2019:

I love the arts and media, as well as science. I love going to the theatre to see musicals and plays, going out to cool bars in the Northern Quarter with my friends, going to festivals and concerts (going to Bluedot, Parklife and to see Little Mix this year). I also love museums and shopping… and anything that mixes the arts with sciences really!

My parents always thought I’d end up in fashion journalism – a career that would fulfill my love of Teen Vogue magazine and enjoyment of reading and writing that I had had from a young age. I loved my dancing and drama and gymnastic sports, and I was definitely fashion conscious – I was perceived as a “girly” girl by many when I was in school. And with participation in school musicals, I felt that my teachers also thought I’d head down the drama route. However, I still enjoyed my science. I found it interesting to understand the world; getting answers to curious questions that the arts couldn’t give me.

I was at a school where only those perceived to “geeky” did science, and I wasn’t entirely sure if that felt like me. People like me just didn’t do science, so I was worried at school that I might not fit in if I did science at university.

When I eventually started at The University of Manchester, after being accepted onto the biomedical sciences course despite just missing my AAB offer, I met so many wonderful women studying science. And I even met women studying science who also loved dancing – and they’re still my best friends to this very day.