Have you had any challenges during your PhD?
Cathedrals keep detailed records of every Dean and Chapter meeting, going back hundreds of years, with the 16th century records being in Latin. I can sing Latin quite happily as a classically trained singer, but my recall when I am transcribing isn’t as quick as I would like. I am in discussions with my supervisor to hopefully get some support in translating it!
Also, I am missing some records that I would have loved to use. When the local school began educating the boys, some records were moved there. In the Blitz of the 1940s the school was bombed and the records were lost, so now we only have what the Dean in the Chapter discussed . Not having those records was a bit of a sucker punch, I should have expected it, but it is hard nonetheless.
How do you manage to pace yourself when working full time and doing a PhD?
I make sure I get out and about in London. I go to the Institute of Historical Research for their evening lectures and talks, the timings work well with my jobs.
Making time around my jobs for working on my PhD has been the hardest thing. I use school holidays for my work, and evenings. But sometimes when you are exhausted from all the teaching you have done all term, it is important to prioritise having a break. Finding the balance is something I am working on, and I am in a better place now than I was a year ago.
What skills have you used to manage your time during your PhD?
I have learnt to set myself boundaries and be very strict with them. I usually find it easier to set boundaries than to keep them, but I am learning to do better.
Often it is about having open conversations with the people who care about you. Saying things like ‘on Monday night after work I will be in the library for three hours, so don’t expect any communication from me.’ Nine times out of ten, people completely respect you for that.
Then you can actually enjoy the time that you do have with them, rather than thinking about work. Because, the worst thing is when your head wants to be at work when you are with the people you love, or when you are at work feeling guilty about not spending time with family and friends.
I wish I had I clocked this a wee bit earlier and been able to say ‘this is assigned PhD time’ and given myself permission to be a bit selfish with it. What you are undertaking is large, you can’t do it on a whim, and I don't think you should underestimate how much of you it will take to get through it.
Why did you choose to do your PhD part time?
I began during the end of the COVID pandemic. I was based in Devon and had a very steady job. Because of the pandemic access to resources was more limited, so my supervisor suggested part-time for six months. As funding is limited, I stayed part-time when I moved to London.
I spent my undergraduate studying Music at King's, and I have a master's in History from UCL. So moving back to London was actually always the plan. It was a very comfortable move when I got around to it.
Have you managed to find a post graduate community while working and studying?
My department have been really good at making sure they include me and get me involved in things but working during the day can make it quite hard.
I need to find my community after work in the evenings or at weekends. I have been discussing this with the Head of Postgraduate Study in Music as how involved I can be depends on timings of events or discussions.
For example, I particularly value the music colloquium that is held on a Wednesday afternoon. They bring in guest speakers and afterwards there are cake and drinks. It is a great time to catch up with my PhD community. Unfortunately, it moved a bit earlier which meant I couldn’t attend. A lot of people voiced their concerns about the change of timing, and so it is moving back to a time I can attend. I am very excited to get back to it.
What is your proudest moment during your PhD?
A very proud moment was when I won the People’s Choice Award in the King’s Three Minute Thesis competition in 2023. The competition was good fun, but also a challenge.
With music, so much terminology is not in common use, so I delved into the storytelling aspect of my thesis. I had to practice a lot with different people in my life to see what worked. You haven’t got time to stumble, you need to walk out on that stage and have complete faith in yourself.