Spotlight on... Penny Longman

This week we meet Penny Longman, Senior Careers Consultant at UCL Careers Extra, who chats to us about her current projects, love of maps and favourite spots in the UK for scenic walks. What is your role and what does it involve? I'm a Senior Careers Consultant and am responsible for UCL Careers Extra. This is a programme of additional careers support for UK undergraduate students from a range of backgrounds, including Black students, students who are the first in their family to go to university, those with disabilities and students from low income households. How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?. I joined in September 2016. Before that, I was a Careers and Higher Education Adviser at a school and a sixth form college, and was responsible for the Careers Education programmes at both places while also doing a lot of work providing guidance to students applying to university or jobs. That means I have advised thousands of students on their personal statements and university choices and processed thousands of UCAS forms! Alongside that, I completed a Master's in Widening Participation, conducting research into students' perceptions of their university experience with a particular focus on its value to them and what we in schools and colleges could do to ensure they go off to university equipped to make the most of it.