Steph is at Teeside University to welcome sport broadcaster and Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, Jeff Brown, where he takes the opportunity to turn the tables and quiz Steph on her love of all things engineering and how proud she is to have an Enginuity scholarship for women in engineering in her name.
The pair reminisce about the first time they met, which happened to be at Wimbledon, and bond over their shared North East upbringing and work ethic.
Jeff asks how Steph balances being a broadcaster, writer, novelist, podcaster, and mum; as Steph explains the reasons behind her drive to keep busy.
Steph describes how her attendance at a city technology college sponsored by British American Tobacco, exposed her to technology, science, strong funding, practical projects with local businesses, and broader career possibilities and why that played such an important role in the opportunities which came next.
She also recounts early rejection from BBC Cleveland after being told she ‘wasn’t the right type for the BBC’, and details how she eventually started working in broadcasting through persistence and behind-the-scenes roles, before a BBC Breakfast Editor changed the trajectory of her career by challenging internal attitudes about regional accents and putting Steph in front of the camera.
The conversation returns to Steph’s work with Enginuity as she explains why she’s eager to support women in engineering and improve social mobility particularly in her home region.
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
00:31 First Meeting at Wimbledon
02:41 Work Ethic and Roots
04:20 School That Sparked Engineering
06:20 Careers Advice and Finding Your Thing
08:12 Money and Women in Engineering
09:00 Breaking into Broadcasting
11:14 Accent Bias and BBC Breakthrough
15:10 Creating Opportunities Through Scholarships
16:57 Writing Crime Novels and Never Slowing Down
18:49 Final thoughts
Get in touch with us at sospod@enginuity.org
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