Since completing my GCSEs and A-levels at the Ashington based campus of the NCEA Trust in 2017, I have gone on to be one of the first solicitors in the north east of England to qualify through the solicitor apprentice route. Towards the end of my solicitor apprenticeship (around summer 2022), I received the opportunity to become a trustee of the NCEA Trust. At the time, I did not know what this role would entail, but having spoken to other trustees I soon realised this was something I would be delighted to be a part of. I have now been on the trust board for two years and in that time I have been able to use my background of being a former pupil and as someone who has grown up in the local area to bring a personal perspective to help support and raise the ambitions of the young people who the NCEA Trust serve.