Molly Sander (United Utilities)
Name: Molly Sander
Subject: BSc Geography; MSc Geography
Year Graduated: 2016
College: Bowland
Where are you now and what are you doing?
I am on the graduate scheme at United Utilities as a General Management Graduate (now called ‘Future Leaders’). As I am on a graduate scheme, what I do changes frequently, with 4x 6 month long placements. As a brief summary, my first placement was on one of the biggest change projects to happen in the company, supporting our operational teams through this change. My second placement was as an Assistant Production Manager at one of our bioresource processing facilities, developing a flood management plan, visitor safety processes and supporting the production manager. My third placement was in our strategy team, organising stakeholder events across the region to gain opinions on our strategic direction, and working with an Area Stakeholder Manager who manages the stakeholder relationships across Manchester and Cheshire. I will soon be moving onto my final placement, which is looking at reducing energy use across Wastewater through new technologies and ways of working, which I am very excited to get going with!
What would you like to do next?
To be completely honest, this changes on a day-to-day basis. I know I definitely want to stay working at United Utilities, but with it being such a large company, I am still finding out about new teams that exist in it! I have loved every placement I have done so far, which I really did not expect to. Straight off the scheme, I think I am going to go back into the operational side of things, working as a production manager to gain invaluable experience in managing a team and area. More long term, I see myself in environmental strategy or stakeholder management, but as long as I am enjoying myself and being challenged, I’ll be happy.
Why did you choose to study at Lancaster?
I actually came to Lancaster through clearing after deciding against a gap year last minute. I chose it because I knew it was good for Geography but honestly did not know that much else about it. I have to say though, choosing to come to Lancaster was probably one of the best decisions I have ever made; I loved my degree and the fact it was a collegiate and campus university.
What was your favourite part of your degree and why?
As a geography student, the location of Lancaster with it being so close to such incredible environments was a definite highlight, as many modules involved day field trips to the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and so on. I also loved the variety of subjects on offer, especially as I loved pretty much every aspect of geography. I chose modules ranging from post-colonialism in Tunisia, Cities & Globalisation, to Habitat Management, Lakes, Rivers & Estuaries and so on. Going abroad was also a favourite part for me, as I went on the Iceland field trip to learn all about glaciers and got the opportunity to do my dissertation in Croatia as an Erasmus student for 3 months.
How do you think your time at Lancaster prepared you for what you’re currently doing?
I can wholeheartedly say that without the skills gained from doing my degree, I would not be in the job I am in now. Firstly, having such a range of modules allowed me to explore everything I loved and pushed me through group work exercises, fieldwork experience and showing I was a self-driven individual. I also chose the ‘Communicating Geography’ module meaning I spent an afternoon every week teaching a primary school class in Blackpool. Whilst I have not ended up teaching, this module helped to improve my communication and presenting skills. I also got heavily involved with my college, acting as Education and Welfare Officer for Bowland JCR for a year, and running our netball club for a year, giving me skills in leadership, communication and decision-making. Getting the opportunity to do my dissertation abroad also prepared me in a different way and showed to employers that I confident in undertaking new challenges and could adapt to work in completely different situations.
What did you enjoy most about your time at Lancaster? (Including extra-curricular activities and beyond?)
Being at Lancaster and especially in Bowland College just felt like you were part of one big family, I got involved in a whole host of activities and it is only since leaving University that I have realised how lucky we all were to get so many different opportunities. I loved being a part of the college, running to be on the JCR and leading our netball club. While my family like to joke about my ‘Netball and Geography’ degree, I do like to think I got a good balance between my degree and extracurricular activities and really enjoyed studying in LEC. Hence why I decided to extend my degree for a year to do a masters, taking the opportunity to do a second dissertation, this time with the Wyre Rivers Trust, which was a good opportunity to start growing my network.
