The Heart of Bucks ‘Inspiring Buckinghamshire’ series gives local people from a range of sectors a chance to share their knowledge and insights to help inspire others.
Here we are speaking with Louis White, Vice-Chair of the Young Futures Board.
Tell us about yourself and your connection to Buckinghamshire.
I was born in High Wycombe, I attended a local primary & secondary school, I really enjoyed maths and science and this fascination continued into my gap year where one of my part time roles was a maths TA at Sir William Ramsay, my old school. I went on to study Engineering at Hertfordshire and found myself returning to my home town for a graduate role at ELGA Labwater in Lane End, the pure water experts! In my role I design & develop products for the laboratories and clinical analyser market, supporting healthcare and science globally. It was through my workplace that I then started getting involved with the wider community, mentors from my workplace encouraged me to get involved in supporting secondary school students to develop a product to sell in the young enterprise competition. I really enjoyed supporting the students in this awesome challenge as it incorporates elements similar to the apprentice/dragons den and lastly gives me chance to share my passion of STEM subjects.
What personal achievements are you most proud of?
I think one of my proudest moments is becoming a member of the IMechE, a professionally registered Engineer. It was a goal of mine since studying at university and the pursuit of it through my work at ELGA has taken me out of my comfort zone and really made me strive to try new things and increase my exposure to new skills sets and become a more active member of the community.
I am also really pleased that I got involved with volunteering, I think it has made me a more rounded and open minded person and it is something that I aim to continue through my life. In future, I hope to volunteer for The Wildlife Trusts and get involved with a conservation project and also to contribute/support research in a citizen science project.
Lastly I am proud to be the vice chair of the Young Futures Fund board and participate in directing funding towards projects that support mental and physical health and wellbeing, foster practical skills and education, and connection to the community.
What are some of the challenges you have faced, and how have you overcome them?
I struggled mid way through my university years with my mental health, specifically anxiety, at the time I felt overwhelmed with work and isolated from my family and friends. I was lucky a course leader made me aware of and suggested I attend a support session for mental health, this session along with other small steps such as exercising regularly and using public/student spaces like the library as much as possible helped. This experience really hit home for me about how important programmes to support those struggling with their mental health are and I am grateful to be part of a board where we can and have already distributed grants towards supporting young people in this area.
After university, I found the rental housing market challenging; I have moved flats three times in the last three years due to the properties being sold on, I suspect influenced by of the cost of living crisis. If I had advice on this one it would be to focus on what you can control: how you react.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
I think back to discussing my university course options with my family and the underlying point we always circled back to is “there is no substitute for experience”. I think that young people face quite a challenge taking the first steps to enter a career sector. It’s difficult to land that first job and gain experience if you come from a pure academic background, whether that be just finishing A-Levels or graduating university. I think this is why its so important to get relevant experience that will build transferable skills through work experience, apprenticeships, placements, community competitions and events. I went down the industrial placement route mid way through university which I am so glad I did, it built my confidence up, shaped my character and in my case gave me a measure of what an engineering role was like.
What is your greatest hope for the future for Buckinghamshire?
My hope for Buckinghamshire is for the number of exciting opportunities, social spaces and events to multiply and ultimately increase the quality of life! Recent times such as the pandemic and cost of living crisis has put everything under strain. Seeing this I think that young people now more than ever face uncertainty about the future and ensuring that there are as many opportunities as possible to support them is crucial.
Read more of our Inspiring Buckinghamshire interviews here.
