Studying BSc Geography at Aberystwyth University, it was a field trip to the North Island of New Zealand in my second year that started my thinking about the complex interactions between natural hazards and human society. Following the field trip, my undergraduate dissertation research explored volcanic risk perceptions and hazard map territories on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain).

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After graduating with a First Class Honours degree, I continued my studies by reading for a Master of Arts in Regional and Environmental Policy at Aberystwyth University. Through this degree, I built on my knowledge of the field and research methodologies. In addition, I expanded my understanding of the complexities between natural hazards and human society. During my MA, I undertook research exploring a variety of geographical topics ranging from seaside town regeneration in Aberaeron (Mid-Wales), the November 2010 floods in Cornwall and the 2012 and 2014 floods in Ceredigion (Mid-Wales). My dissertation explored the changing nature of Ceredigion’s emergency management post-2012 and 2014 storms.

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I graduated with a Distinction in my MA and, in November 2015, I successfully applied for a three-year PhD in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Liverpool Hope University, funded by a Vice Chancellor PhD Scholarship. I started my PhD in March 2016 analysing the threat of natural hazards on the Maltese Islands. My thesis, which was examined by Dr Christopher Kilburn (UCL) and Dr Victoria Kennedy (Liverpool Hope), was entitled Natural Hazards, Vulnerability and Resilience in the Maltese Islands. 

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Throughout my PhD journey, I was involved in the teaching of undergraduate students within the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Liverpool Hope University. Drawing upon my diverse geographical knowledge, I have taught subjects across degree programmes ranging from tourism, sustainable cities and odonyms (street names) as memory, to mass movement processes, neo-tectonics and hazards of the Mediterranean. I have attended, and presented at, various international conferences and I am currently part of an international research team investigating hazard awareness and vulnerability of tourism destinations on the Maltese Islands.