Caitlin Bynre

Current Employer/Organisation Name

Groundwork South

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

2 weeks after graduation I moved to a farm in Virginia for 2 years where I was a volunteer caregiver and assisted in the flower and herb garden, the commercial kitchen, the pottery and in the art class. I then became a teaching assistant in the English and Humanities dept. of a 6th Form College, was promoted to a Graduate Teacher of GCSE English Language and then left to work in operations and office management at an electric vehicle importer and retailer. I now have been working for almost a year as an Education Officer within a Heritage Lottery funded project in Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve curating the outdoor education offering for schools and the public from scratch.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

I love being outdoors, and I loved everything about being a teacher apart from the stresses of Ofsted and standardised testing so what I do now allows me the space to thrive without pressure and stress. I also love working with people with disabilities so there are aspects of that in this role too. I also get to decide what I want to do every day as I am solely responsible for the Education programme and marketing.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

History Society.

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

I loved the focus on micro Cornish history, and the expertise of the faculty re: American history and first Nations historiography.

What did you enjoy most about studying here?

I loved living in Cornwall, would not trade that experience for the world.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

They are an incredibly good university that offered the program of study I wanted.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

Flexibility, learning to ask questions even if you feel stupid, communicating with people from all walks of life (spending 2 years with adults who don’t communicate typically really helped with this) and self belief.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

Spend time doing lots of different things. Casting a wide net for experienced isn’t a bad thing and it really makes you take a step back and think about what you really want out of life. You can’t possibly know what you want to do for the next 50 years straight out of university so allow yourself the grace and space to figure that out.

What are your plans for the future?

I would love to be involved in heritage/historical garden management. Perhaps as a part of the National Trust or Heritage England.