Caspian Clunies-Ross

Current Employer/Organisation Name

West Midlands Ambulance Service

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

When I left Exeter I went to Manchester to participate in the Police Now graduate leadership programme with Greater Manchester Police. After the end of that two year programme I applied to join West Midlands Ambulance Service as a student paramedic and have just started that course now.

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

I wanted to help people, that’s why I studied psychology in the first place, that’s taken a more hands-on approach than I thought when I was studying. I like the excitement and the feeling that I have made a real difference in somebody’s life.

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

I was a member of the LGBTQ+ Society at Exeter, which gave me a lot of confidence to be openly out when I joined the police.

Were you part of the Exeter Student Ambassador Scheme at any point during your studies?

Yes.

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

I enjoyed the practical’s the most, and the opportunities to learn from people with real applied experience who are experts in their fields. The biggest highlight was going on a field trip in an animal psychology module and observing deer and other wild animals in the park.

What did you enjoy most about studying here?

I enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, lecturers were passionate about their subjects and always happy to give more information or examples from their own work to further my understanding of the subject.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

I loved the campus as soon as I walked around, the student ambassadors were so helpful and nice that I knew that I would make friends if I studied at Exeter.

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

Studying psychology was useful in the police, as I went to a lot of incidents involving mental health crises and having an understanding of what people were going through and how to help them was invaluable.

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

Learn everything you can, you have access to world-class academics so don’t take it for granted and just learn from the lecture slides – go to the lectures, ask questions, and dive into it. If you want to be a police officer, or a paramedic, then get as many clinical modules and practical’s as you can because it is all working with people.

What are your plans for the future?

Hopefully to qualify as a paramedic and see where that takes me!