Mirella has been working as a Personal Assistant and Bilingual Legal Secretary at MHD Law LLP in Edinburgh for the past six years, providing secretarial and administrative support to a lawyer in both Italian and English. Initially, she began her studies within the tourism industry although, from a young age, she felt that she possessed a keen interest in ecology, sustainability, and the environment.

During a trip to Indonesia three years ago, Mirella witnessed the environmental devastation that had taken place across a large proportion of the Indonesian rainforest. This drove her to change her career ambitions to be more environmentally focused, which has led her to embark on a BSc degree in Environmental Science at the Open University.

Mirella came across the IES whilst searching online for opportunities to become a Chartered Environmentalist at the end of her studies. She signed up as an Affiliate member, before her course became accredited by the IES, to stay informed with events, career opportunities, news and seminars through our ES Monthly newsletter. As a student, she believes that it is important for her to stay up-to-date with environmental issues.

“Monthly newsletters give me a chance to keep me informed on what is going on amongst people that are already working in the Environmental Sciences.”

Once she has graduated, Mirella wishes to works towards becoming a Chartered Environmentalist. Her current aim is to become an Environmental Consultant, however, she suspects that this could change depending on which specialisms she elects over the duration of her degree programme. In the meantime, she would like to gain some experience in the environmental sector during her studies to improve her chances of employability once her course has ended.