Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

Meeting with students and identifying barriers to study they experience, and deciding what reasonable adjustments can be put in place. Creating learning contracts, liaising with academic staff to ensure that recommended adjustments are implemented.

Discussing student cases with colleagues and working collaboratively to find solutions to problems, planning for the arrival of new disabled students, working to promote inclusive practices across the university and completing associated admin.

Meeting students and academics, attending meetings across the university, liaising with support services within and outside of the institution, completing admin tasks such as emails and writing learning contracts, answering queries from colleagues and students, dealing with urgent student cases.

My colleagues are brilliant, I am very lucky to work with a group of kind, supportive and capable people where can can all share our knowledge to support each other and our students. It's also great to be working towards something positive, and to know that I can play a part in enabling disabled students to succeed at university.

Sometimes, however hard we try, we cannot always remove all the barriers that disabled students encounter. We can do our best, but sometimes it's not enough. Often, I am limited in what I can provide due to systems and policy constraints.

Students' funding is affected by government policy, which recently has resulted in substantial cuts to services both within universities and in the wider community.

Universities are expected to plug the gap where public services are under-resourced, and this means that many students, particularly those with mental health difficulties, may not get the therapeutic interventions they need, at the time they need them.

After finishing my degree, I had a couple of different roles but didn't really feel settled working in these fields, despite one role being directly related to my studies.

Having learned British Sign Language through the Give it a Go scheme at the Students' Union, I became interested in disability, and joined my current team in a role working with Deaf students. I worked in the team in different roles before becoming a disability adviser.

Through this work, I learned a lot about the adviser role and felt that it would suit me well - I enjoy talking to people and helping people find solutions to problems.

The role plays to my strengths, and there are opportunities to further my knowledge in areas that interest me, such as mental health.

I've also been supported to complete my MA in Disability Studies, which has been a great experience, and something I am proud to have completed while working full time.

Qualifications - MA Disability Studies, British Sign Language (gained through the Give it a Go programme while at Sheffield Uni).

Skills - patience, empathy, strong organisational and communication skills, adaptability, technical proficiency.

Personal development, such as assertiveness training, handling difficult conversations, and work related training, such as mental health first aid and autism awareness.

Sheffield Hallam University
2016-17 Senior Disability Adviser (Mental Health)
Temporary promotion - maternity cover

Sheffield Hallam University
2012-13 Disability Assistant

Sheffield Hallam University
2011-12 Disability Officer (Deaf)
Temporary contract - maternity cover

Her Majesty's Court Service
2007-2011 Admin Officer and Court Clerk

Music in the Round
2006-2007 Admin Assistant and concert organiser

Virgin Megastore
2004-2007 Retail Assistant
Part time job while at University

My most recent roles have given me the opportunity to develop my knowledge and skills in mental health, and I would like to undertake more learning in this area. I am hoping to do more training in talking therapies so I can eventually work in a therapeutic role and take a more hands-on role in supporting people with mental health difficulties.

Don't worry if you don't have a clear idea of what you want to do when you graduate, I don't think that many people do, and your degree may take you in directions you didn't expect or hadn't thought of.

Make sure you do other activities outside of your course - join societies, committees and get some extra experience. If I hadn't done the British Sign Language course through Give it a Go while at uni, I would never have thought to work in the area of disability support.

Don't be afraid to try something new, and don't limit yourself to your subject area.