I grew up in Port Talbot, South Wales, and after working as a hairdresser (not a good one) by day and a waitress by night, I joined the Army at 17 ½ years old. I didn’t have any meaningful qualifications at the time, and although I wanted to join as a driver, I was guided towards communications. Joining the Army is by far the best decision I’ve ever made.

After 13 eventful years, I left the Army as a Sergeant in H.M Forces Royal Signals. Leaving the Army is by far the second-best decision I ever made. 

I discovered Contact Center when I saw some of my colleagues working on a new application that, from where I was sitting, looked far more interesting and exciting than the tech I was working on. It was love at first sight, and Contact Center, the people that use it, the customers that interact with it, and the clever ones that build and develop it have been central to my career ever since. Contact Centre and Customer/User Experience have continued to be the love and driving force of my working life.

Throughout my life, when I looked around, I rarely saw anyone else that looked like me. I was often the only female, part of the minority that wasn’t white; the one percenter as I like to call it. I often had a very different attitude, approach, and general thinking. I picture this as a spreadsheet, whereby the majority would fit or sit nicely in a row or a column. When I look at the spreadsheet – I don’t think I fit in any of the rows or columns.

I’m female, I’m not white, I’m not black, and I’m not South Asian. I’m a mixed-race woman of colour from Wales. My culture is influenced by my many experiences and the people I’ve met throughout my life. I don’t align with any of the labels that are presented to me. I chose OTHER, or my preference is to leave the space blank. When there is a label for being the square peg in a round hole – or all of the above, maybe I will tick that.

I want to use this space to make myself accountable to me. To embrace being different, sometimes confusing, complicated, passionate, and driven in whatever I want to do or be. I want to write about my experiences, the good, the bad and the indifferent.

My primary goal is to finally finish writing and publishing my book. Now is my time to prioritise my purpose, passion and values: to be unashamedly me. Hopefully, this will be the third-best decision I’ve ever made!