Fiona Cooke Official Fellow in Medicine As a Consultant Microbiologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Official Fellow at Girton I have the privilege of linking laboratory work, clinical work and teaching. I am fortunate to be able to support medical students from the first day they enter College until they qualify as doctors. It seems a lifetime ago that I arrived for my weekend of interviews in 1988, a rather shy seventeen-year-old from a Nottingham comprehensive school. I applied to Girton chiefly because of the welcome I received on the open day, and the strong message of inclusivity. This message is as strong today as it was back then, and I am proud to play my part in selecting the next generation of doctors, choosing the most able whatever their background. I was the first from our family to go to University. My mother and maternal grandmother had been to teacher-training college, and my father worked for the County Council in insurance. My brother Fraser followed me to Cambridge (Fitzwilliam), also to read Medicine. Giving my brother and me the same initials may have saved on name-tapes, but the existence of two Dr F J Cookes with the same qualifications has challenged the taxman over the years. Before I started at Girton as an undergraduate in 1989, I took a gap year, which undoubtedly had a huge influence on my subsequent career. Having participated in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme through the Girl Guides, I went on a British Schools Exploring Society (BSES) expedition to the Himalayas, which certainly opened my eyes
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