Building confidence beyond University
Meet Emma, she completed an internship with SIC and gained valuable professional experience early in her career.
A professional headshot photo of Emma. Emma is a white woman with straight, waist-length dark brown hair. She is wearing a black, long-sleeved blouse covered in a colourful paisley design and space pattern. She’s standing in front of a grey plain background and is looking ahead into the camera, smiling.
About Emma
Emma studied English Literature at the University of Warwick and graduated in 2025. She now works within the libraries team at Buckinghamshire Council and hopes to pursue a future in commercial law. Emma is neurodivergent and has chronic illnesses, which affect her energy and how she manages her daily activities.
One of Emma’s main concerns throughout university was how she would transition from its supportive and flexible environment into the workplace. Although she had previous experience working in a children’s museum, her degree involved a large amount of independent study, which gave her greater flexibility around how she worked. As she began thinking about her future career, she was conscious of what moving into the workplace might look like and where she could access the right support after university.
“I was just worried about not having the same sort of support in the workplace. I’ve got chronic illnesses, I struggle with energy, and I’m also neurodivergent. I had quite a few concerns about how I was going to manage my disabilities after uni.”
Journey to SIC
Emma first came across SIC during her first year of university, when she attended a careers clinic hosted by SIC. At the clinic, she had 1:1 support from Alice, SIC’s CEO and Co-Founder, about employment and the opportunities available to her.
After the clinic, Alice and Emma explored funding opportunities through Emma’s university so that Emma could complete an internship with SIC. The internship gave Emma an early introduction to a professional working environment while providing support that recognised the challenges of chronic illness and neurodivergence.
From the support she received, Emma said: “She [Alice] just gave me a lot of support in the sense of opening opportunities for me, opening different doors.”
During her time with SIC, Emma was also able to explore a range of sectors and engage with different employers and organisations, including law firms, the NHS, and the Environment Agency. This helped broaden her understanding of the opportunities available to her and gave her insight into sectors she was interested in pursuing.
SIC’s Support
During the internship, Emma developed her research and professional skills through a range of activities. This included interviewing disability advocate and writer Pippa Stacey, contributing to SIC’s magazine, supporting an event through note-taking, and engaging with employers across a range of sectors.
This exposure was valuable as Emma began exploring a career in commercial law. At one SIC event, she spoke directly with someone from a Magic Circle law firm about disability within the legal sector, giving her a more personal insight into both the progress being made and the challenges that remain. For Emma, the conversation “just kind of pushed that door a little bit more open.”
Reflecting on the wider opportunities she gained through the internship, she said: “I managed to build up my CV in a supportive way, [and] get experience that I wouldn’t have been able to get elsewhere.”
Another significant part of Emma’s internship was having the opportunity to research and write SIC’s Where to Find Support guide. The resource brings together information and links to various support sources. Through creating the guide, Emma developed a greater understanding of the resources available to disabled and neurodivergent people and how to access them. “It made me so much more knowledgeable about what’s out there, what support is out there, what people can access.”
SIC’s Impact
Emma believes undertaking the internship in her first year gave her valuable professional experience early in her career. SIC gave her exposure to research and desk-based work, strengthened her CV and increased her confidence in using those transferable skills: “It bolstered my skills. It gave me more confidence to think that I can go out there and use those skills.”
The knowledge Emma gained has remained useful beyond the internship. She has been able to signpost friends and others to relevant support and has continued to engage with accessible employment platforms like Evenbreak, which she first discovered through her work at SIC.
Emma’s relationship with SIC continued as she moved from university into employment. After starting her current role at Buckinghamshire Council, she returned to Alice for advice while applying for Access to Work. “It wasn't just the internship, you know; it’s carried on.”
Why SIC's work matters
Emma’s experience highlights the challenges disabled and neurodivergent people can face when moving from education into employment. While university offered flexibility and established support, entering the workplace brought uncertainty around how she would manage her disabilities and what support would be available.
Her journey also shows the value of creating opportunities early. Through SIC, Emma built professional experience, gained workplace skills, explored different career paths, and became more aware of the support available to her. Access to these opportunities can make the transition into employment more accessible and give disabled and neurodivergent people greater confidence to pursue and develop their careers.
