Old Norvicensians

To celebrate International Women's Day, we decided to create a spotlight series on some inspirational women in our ON community. Last but not least in this fabulous series, we have Rachel Wright (ON 17-19)) who is a Fluid Systems Engineer at Orbex. What are you doing now for work? I’m a Fluid Systems Engineer at Orbex, a rocket company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. What does a typical day entail? I have daily meetings with different engineering teams such as Software, Assembly, Structures & Avionics to solve fluid network challenges across the rocket. I focus on all aspects relating to the valves, piping and fittings used across the launch vehicle as well as the tank pressurisation system. This includes defining valve and pressurisation sequences for the mission timeline. No two days are the same. How have you got to where you are today? I studied BSc Physics, Astrophysics & Cosmology at Lancaster University. I realised I didn’t want to pursue a career in research so I pivoted into engineering and studied an MSc in Astronautics & Space Engineering at Cranfield University. At Cranfield I completed my thesis with two companies: SpaceBorn United & Frontier Space Technologies which led to my first job as a Payload Systems Engineer at Frontier Space Technologies. I gained a lot of knowledge in fluidic systems in this role, so when the opportunity for my current role arose on LinkedIn a year later, I couldn’t say no. Who is your inspirational figure? Elon Musk, for pioneering a new, less risk-adverse engineering approach that’s driving rapid technological advancements. What was your fondest memory of your time at Norwich School? Cathedral in the mornings before the day started. I personally found it very grounding which set a positive message for the rest of the day. What makes Norwich School special to you? Norwich school creates an atmosphere where we were encouraged to aim high and pursue our interests. But more than that, the teachers were always willing to give extra help, even in their own time, and that really helped me reach my goals. How do you think NS helped you get where you are today? The teachers highlighting valuable extracurricular opportunities. By getting involved in these, it gave me a lot to talk about in my personal statement when applying to University, and the Universities were all really keen to hear about this. What is your best bit of advice to current pupils and ONs? Get involved in as many extracurricular activities as possible. Discovering what you don't enjoy is just as valuable as finding what you do. It also makes you a more interesting candidate to employers. Also, if you can't find an advertised opportunity, contact companies directly. It demonstrates pro-activity and often leads to valuable experience.

To celebrate International Women's Day, we decided to create a spotlight series on some inspirational women in our ON community. Next up we have Rachel Dennison (ON 12-16), Chief of Staff at Oxford Medical Products. What are you doing now for work? I am the Chief of Staff at Oxford Medical Products, a biotech start-up company who have developed a non-pharmacological treatment for overweight and obesity called Sirona, as well as a new system for delivering drugs orally rather than as injections. My role is at the intersection of science and business, helping to commercialise the technology that has been developed by our fantastic team of scientists and engineers. What does a typical day entail? The best thing about the Chief of Staff role and start-ups is that there is no typical day, every day is different. The company is currently raising a round of investment, so at the moment my days are spent building pitch decks, pitching to investors and attending conferences. The product will begin its final clinical trial for weight loss this year, so I am also busy helping to design and set up that trial in both the UK and US. How have you got to where you are today? After leaving Norwich school I studied neuroscience at Nottingham University and undertook my master’s year at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where I worked predominantly on neuroregeneration and spinal cord injury. At this point I knew I loved science but I didn’t want my whole career to be in the lab. After that, I got a business internship at Complement Therapeutics, a biotech start-up in London who are developing a gene therapy for a disease of the eye. This was the first time I got to merge business and science and is what drove me to study an MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise at Cambridge University, which is a course focused on the commercialisation of scientific research and building science-based start-ups. Some friends and I then started building our own start-up company called Nimo Biotech, where we developed a saliva-based glucose monitor for diabetics and we won the Cambridge University start-up pitch competition. This solidified my want to be involved in the start-ups, so when I saw the role advertised for Chief of Staff at Oxford Medical Products, I jumped at it. What was your fondest memory of your time at Norwich School? Singing Jerusalem at the end of term. How do you think NS helped you get where you are today? Mr Large’s biology lesson on the brain is what first sparked my interest in neuroscience, and Mr Croston’s patience and guidance when I changed my mind at least 15 times on what university course I wanted to study, was also greatly appreciated and incredibly helpful.

To celebrate International Women's Day, we decided to create a spotlight series on some inspirational women in our ON community. Next up we have Natalie Lauren, Actor and Filmmaker! What are you doing now for work? I have two aspects to my professional life. On one side, I’m an Actor and a Filmmaker; on the other, I’m a Mentor and Education Consultant. Acting is easy to explain: I work in plays, films, TV and Voice-Over. Funnily enough, in the last ON magazine I wrote that about the only area of the industry I’ve not worked yet is Commercials, which is a shame because they tend to be much more lucrative! I’m pleased to now update that to say that I shot 2 Commercials in 2024, and they were indeed more lucrative! Being an Independent Filmmaker is the newest addition to my career, and it’s broad to encompass the variety of roles I’ve had in the film’s I’ve made: Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Post-Production Supervisor. About the only thing I haven’t yet done is be a Sound Recordist! What does a typical day entail? There is no such thing! Making short film is like a series of projects that span 1-2 years. There’s different phases within that, and sometimes you’re working on more than one project in more than one phase. Then throw in the odd, unexpected audition, or sessions with my Mentoring students, and there really is no “typical”! How have you got to where you are today? A healthy mix of naivety, dogged determination, and a phenomenal support network that I certainly call on frequently. Genuinely, in all seriousness, I got here because I kept saying ‘yes’ to little things that I thought sounded interesting, I kept putting one foot in front of the other and insisting on doing everything to the best of my ability in the moment. I’ve never been good at future planning or big end-goals. The idea of a 5-year plan, to me, feels otherworldly. My ethos has been to make the best decision I can at the time with the information available and stay receptive to the opportunities that I come across. Who is your inspirational figure? Great question, for which I don’t have a simple answer! Lots and lots of people serve as inspirations for me, each for different reasons, which I combine into a little patchwork that I hope rubs off on how I do things somehow! I take a little nugget with me from that person, maybe a quality, ethos or element of their story, and just try to learn from it or be guided by it. What was your fondest memory of your time at Norwich School? I couldn’t possibly say! When I think about that time, it plays in my mind like a montage of all the smiles, the laughter, the people, buildings, experiences. It’s really sweet actually! What makes Norwich School special to you? The sense of a safe community which gave, at least to me, a huge amount of support and stability. The nurturing environment gave me confidence (and opportunity) to try out all sorts of things, which is where I began to learn what my strengths were and what I cared about. I feel unbelievably fortunate to have been able to have had that. How do you think NS helped you get where you are today? Absolutely. I know that how we think and who we are is a product of the environments we’ve been in, and the experiences we’ve had. It all informs what you learn along the way, and a big part of that is what you’re capable of and whether you matter. Norwich School was like a safe training ground, so that when you get out into the wider world, which is full with a lot more difficulty, you’ve practiced some of your skills enough that you don’t get too derailed by the challenges you’ll inevitably face. What is your best bit of advice to current pupils and ONs? Say yes to as many of the opportunities that are presented to you as you can. In my experience, it's off the back of opening yourself up to what's around you that other offers and opportunities come your way. — Always in ways you could never have planned. Shoot your shot, be nice, and make yourself proud.