I am a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Sunderland and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). I have been leading and teaching programmes in Education Studies for over 15 years. My current role within the University is divided between teaching and leading research activity in the School of Education (SoE). My subject specialisms and interests are philosophy of education, critical thinking and inquiry, formative assessment, qualitative research paradigms and relational pedagogies. I have had the privilege of teaching students from undergraduate to professional doctorate study. I am a former 14-19 educator, working at the intersection of compulsory and tertiary education. I led ‘Increased Flexibility’ programmes to re-engage young people with their studies and contributed to staff development and teacher training programmes as well as curriculum design. I began my university study as a mature student in my mid-twenties. My experience has shaped my commitment to widening access and participation to university education so that others can benefit from the transformative effect that education can have. What I love most about my job are the connections and positive interactions which develop through the student-teacher relationship and how we learn from and with one another.