Becky Lewis

"I was pleased to see how well the 'Coach' and 'Trainer' personality types matched up to my perception of myself and to my current role. I work hard to be as understanding and approachable as I can be, because I think these traits are really important in lecturers. I'm passionate about teaching and am fascinated by evolutionary biology."

"I work as a Biology lecturer at the University of East Anglia (UEA for short). There are lots of different topics within biology, but I teach general skills for biologists and, my favourite topic in biology - evolution! My favourite thing about my job is knowing that I can help students to achieve their potential and teach them some valuable life skills. This is quite a well paying job, but you need to have a PhD to do it, so it begins with quite a few years of very low pay before you can become a lecturer!"

"I never really planned to become a lecturer, or even a biologist! For my A levels, I knew I loved the science subjects so I chose to study Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Unfortunately, I was really put off Biology by some not very enthusiastic teachers and so I switched to French instead.Because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, when it came to applying to university, I chose to study Natural Sciences. At the time, very few universities offered this course, and none were as flexible with the topics you could study as UEA, so that is where I chose to study and I'm so glad I did. Because my course was so flexible, I was able to give biology another chance. I had a go at some biology modules and I LOVED them and was lucky enough to be able to build on them - ending up with me majoring in biology.In my last year of my degree, I did a research project with my favourite lecturer, which made me realise how much I enjoy research and I applied for a PhD. Through my PhD I helped out with teaching some of the undergraduate students and enjoyed that too. Coincidentally, as the funding for my PhD ran out, the lecturer I had been helping went on maternity leave and I managed to get the job of being her maternity cover and that is where my lecturing career began."

"I'm very sociable in small groups, so I love to meet up with my friends for a coffee and a chat. Since the pandemic, I've had to find other ways to fill my time. I'm very crafty and love making things, so developed lots of hobbies during lockdown, including making my own clothes and glass fusing. I have also been fostering rescue dogs that need a place to stay for a little while, until they find their forever home, which has been very rewarding - but it's very difficult to say goodbye to them!"

"My typical day at work will be mostly preparing my teaching sessions. I really enjoy coming up with new ways to explain things to my students and new activities for them to do to help them understand better."

"After my GCSEs I studied A Levels in Maths, Chemistry and Physics, and AS levels in Further Maths and French. I then went on to study a Natural Sciences integrated masters degree at UEA, which is a 4 year degree. After that, I stayed at UEA and completed my PhD looking at thermal adaptaion in insects."