A life in the great outdoors! If you think of a typical farmer, you probably don’t picture somebody like Emma. That’s perhaps because her route to becoming a farmer wasn’t a typical one. We ask her about her journey so far and about the realities of a career in agriculture. Emma grew up in the New Forest and had applied to study Dentistry at university. “Unfortunately, I missed out by a few UCAS points so took a year to re-sit my A Levels,” Emma explains. During that year, Emma had a bit of a lightbulb moment. “I had applied to do Dentistry because everyone told me I was bright and would do well. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do so I applied for it, but I began to realise that I was actually more interested in making things. Woodwork had been one of my favourite subjects at school. I discovered the world of prosthetics and orthotics, which are the branches of medicine that deal with things like 36
Make The Future Yours! Issue 3
splints and artificial body parts. I found a Degree at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, for which my existing A level results were appropriate. I was accepted so I was able to stop doing my re-sits.” So, what did Emma do for the rest of that year until it was time to head to Glasgow? “My parents had a small-holding with some cattle and sheep, so I spent my time helping them and working part time in a bank. I was always interested in the animals as a hobby; I don’t suppose there are many 16-year-olds who would want three sheep as a present for passing their GCSEs!”
