The first democratically elected female chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament is inspired by strong females and her colleagues say she is "politely sassy"
Can you sum up your role in a sentence?
I am responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation, and I am accountable to the board and all other MSYPs, to make sure that I make decisions in the best interest of the organisation.
How many hours a day do you spend working on SYP issues?
It varies a lot. Daily, I would say at least three hours, but during our national sittings I have to be switched on the entire weekend.
What is your proudest achievement as SYP chair?
Being the first democratically elected female chair. I was so proud to be paving the way for other females in the organisation. My proudest achievement has to be when we achieved two of our Care.Fair.Share. campaign outcomes. It really hit me that we were genuinely making a real difference for the young carers in Scotland.
Are TV debates engaging or a waste of time?
TV debates are really valuable because you can engage with so many people. However, I think they are best when the representatives stay away from point scoring and focus on getting across their policies.
What do you do away from the SYP?
I am studying international relations and German at St Andrews University. I also love singing! I do opera singing and I sing in a lot of choirs. Other than that, I love spending time with my friends and family – especially my two nieces Ella and Ava!
I get embarrassed thinking about myself at school because I was always challenging teachers and starting petitions when things were not right
What is your perfect weekend?
I love having productive weekends, so as often as possible I try to make plans with friends to give myself a day off. My perfect weekend is being surrounded by my friends and just talking rubbish and eating good food. I love walking around St Andrews with them too, because it is so beautiful.
If you were to write a note to your 50-year-old self what would it say?
I hope you have changed the world, and if you haven’t already – you better get to it.
How do you inspire people?
I inspire people by getting a point across really strongly, but always being polite about it. In the SYP office they call me “politely sassy”.
What inspires you?
Definitely has to be other strong females. In SYP there are so many other females who inspire me and who work so hard to make sure young women are represented in politics.
What is your worst habit?
Interfering where there is injustice! I get embarrassed thinking about myself at school because I was always challenging teachers and starting petitions when things were not right.
What was the last thing you did that scared you?
I drove through a safari park in my little Renault Clio. I thought it was awesome until a lion walked in front of my car and then I started to think it was a bad idea!
Brian Denis Cox or Brian Edward Cox?
It has to be Brian Denis Cox, the actor, because I met him on the day of the Scottish referendum announcement during interviews and he was really friendly.
