I was born in London in 1966 and came to live in the seaside village of Garryvoe in East Cork at the age of four. The bright lights of London soon forgotten, I attended primary school in Shanagarry and completed my Leaving Certificate in Midleton at St Mary’s high school. I took science for what was then called the Inter Cert and chose Biology for the Leaving Cert.

Sitting the Leaving Cert in 1984 now seems like a different era: there was still quite a lot of pressure but not the same gateway of opportunity, which I feel exists now. "Jobs for life" is what we were seeking; the emphasis was on Job Security – i.e. Civil Service Mentality.

I completed a secretarial course in the Collage of Commerce in Cork and started work in production at an electronics company in Cork City. I worked there for six years.

I suppose it depends on whether you see life as a treadmill or a window of opportunity. I stepped off my treadmill when I left the electronics company to join Nycomed Ireland in 1993.

Nycomed Ireland produces contrast media for use in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of soft tissue disease. In order to enhance the contrast between healthy and diseased tissue, radiologists inject these media into a patient’s circulatory system or central nervous system before making an X-ray or magnetic resonance (i.e. CT Scan) examination.

Working within Nycomed taught me the entire process and, armed with this knowledge, I was promoted to Team Leader within the Sterile Production area.

This required not only an overall understanding of the process but also the skill to instil this information to others. Hard work, perseverance and ability to get on with people are just some of the requirements of a Team Leader. Last year I was promoted to Good Manufacturing Practice (G.M.P) Officer here at Nycomed. GMPs are the guide lines or rules which Nycomed and all other pharmaceutical companies must follow.

Nycomed has offered me the chance to enhance my career and academic knowledge. I have attended and participated in a number of courses both internally and externally. These courses have helped me to broaden my knowledge and gave me the ability to support, motivate and guide the operators within the production area.

When I did my Leaving Cert in ’84 I may not have taken "the road less travelled by", but I have enjoyed the journey.