Danielle Sanderson

1. When you were at Brighton & Hove High School, and what is your fondest memory of school?
I was at BHHS from 1974 – 1981
Amongst many fond memories, one that comes to mind is the whole school outing to celebrate the Centenary of Brighton & Hove High School as it was known then. We had a day trip to the Isle of Wight. I was in Lower 4 if I recall correctly, and chose to visit Blackgang Chine, a dinosaur-themed park. Others chose attractions such as Osbourne House. We took a coach and ferry both ways and it was most enjoyable.

2. Who was your favourite teacher and why?
Jane Baker, who taught physics, was my favourite teacher. She instilled in me a fascination with the subject and I went on to read physics at Oxford.

3. What were the benefits of being in an all-girls school?
The main benefit was that I didn’t feel that physics was a “boys subject”. At mixed schools, I suspect that girls might be reticent about being seen to excel in STEM subjects. In fact, I was the first female physicist at my college in Oxford, but, having won an Exhibition, I didn’t suffer too badly with Imposter Syndrome.

4. What did you want to be when you ‘grew-up’?
At school, my ambition was to present the TV programme “Tomorrow’s World”, which covered science and technology subjects. .

5. What do you do now, and what are the most rewarding and challenging parts of your job?
I have had something of a portfolio career. After graduation, I spent a few months at CERN, the Fundamental Particle Research Centre in Geneva then joined the Graduate Scheme at a global IT company, working in programming and operational research. After a few years, I moved to the Training Department, teaching things like programming, project management, effective writing and presentation techniques. On all courses, we had a session on goal-setting and action planning, so I thought I had better set myself some goals to demonstrate the effectiveness of action planning. My goals included to run a marathon. It turned out, I was rather good at running, and I went on to represent Great Britain 21 times. I also used Action Planning to achieve a long-held goal to do a PhD, which I started at the age of 50. That led to my current career: I am an Associate Professor at UCL and Programme Director for the BSc in Urban Planning & Real Estate.

I love teaching, so the most rewarding parts of my job are the interaction with students, both teaching and pastoral. The most challenging aspect is the pressure to publish research in high-ranking academic journals. The peer review process can be a bit demoralising.

6. What are you most proud of so far?
I am proud of my family, my career, and my athletic success. My son is a lawyer in New York, and I have identical twin daughters, one of whom is a paediatric doctor and the other is a civil servant. I really enjoy being an academic and having a new career at this stage of my life is motivating and rejuvenating. With my athletics career, some of my best races were in major championships such as the Commonwealth Games and various European and World Championships. The irony is that I was not at all sporty at school. We didn’t do athletics, and, at best, I made the second team in netball and hockey.

7. What was the best piece of advice you were given whilst at Brighton?
I can’t recall specific pieces of advice, but the general thrust of the teaching was to believe in yourself and your abilities, to be ambitious, and that it is better to have tried and failed than not to have tried.

8. What advice would you give to your 18 year old self?
Various phrases come to mind: Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Trust in serendipity but seize opportunities. Perhaps the best way to sum this up is “You only live once”. I am mindful of a quote, reported by Harold Kushner, that: “Nobody on his deathbed ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time on my business’”.

9. What book, film or piece of music would you recommend to your younger self and to your fellow alumnae?
Economics and Psychology weren’t yet on the syllabus when I was doing my A Levels but in recent years I have become increasingly interested in both subjects. I am currently reading Thinking Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman, who sadly died this year. This book combines elements of both subjects, looking at aspects of Behavioural Economics. I would thoroughly recommend this and similar works to complement humanities and science subjects.

10. How would you like to be remembered?
I would like to be remembered as someone who was kind and caring, but also who inspired others to achieve things they thought impossible.