law and social enterprise Georgina Bremridge (Smee DH 2000)
WHAT CAREER DID YOU SEE YOURSELF IN WHEN YOU WERE 16? I didn’t have a firm
idea when I was at Downe House. Ironically, I found work experience in my uncle’s law firm rather dull. I wanted to be outdoors in the sunshine and use my languages so I thought about travel journalism. A LEVELS: French, Maths and Chemistry UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE: French and Linguistics at Oriel College, Oxford CAREER PATH: I decided to try law (ignoring any warning signs from my earlier
work experience) and secured a training contract with Ashurst LLP, a global city law firm which paid all the law school fees for my two-year conversion course as well as a modest living allowance. I then worked in the Dubai office for 18 months. After almost eight years at Ashurst, I took a career break and worked on a remote cattle ranch in Argentina for six months and then volunteered on agricultural projects in France and Spain. I returned determined to live a more authentic existence and for me that meant making a positive difference to other peoples’ lives. I undertook a leadership programme for professionals wishing to transfer into the social enterprise sector. My first placement was with FoodCycle which collects and distributes surplus food donated by supermarkets. My second placement was with Big Society Capital, a social investment bank which helps charities and social enterprises access repayable finance. I am not clear about my future career plans yet. I think I am a hippie at heart. A driven hippie. I am excited by ideas around the circular economy (re-thinking waste as a useful resource, eg Bio-Bean turns used coffee grounds into electricity and other usable by-products), renewable energy, reducing food waste and better nutritional education and mental wellbeing for young people. WORDS OF ADVICE: Don’t feel that you have to choose a career to validate
yourself in other people’s eyes. Follow your heart. Work to live, don’t live to work! You don’t need to put pressure on yourself to find your dream job straight off; just try something that interests you and see how you go. Bear in mind that people are finding a fulfilling balance with “portfolio working”, dividing each week between more than one organisation, possibly on a freelance basis.
“I undertook a leadership programme for professionals wishing to transfer into the social enterprise sector.”
5