Getting to know intern Dan Perry  

By Silvia Renon (PGR Events Intern) 

Silvia met up with Pathfinder Career Destinations intern, Dan Perry. We get to know his love of music, his exciting journey to PGR life and his future plans in the education field. Dan is currently a third-year PhD candidate in education. 

 Tell me a bit about your hometown and what it was like growing up there. I usually say I’m from England – as I have moved numerous times up and down the country but have been living in Scotland for the past 10 years.  

What sparked your PhD journey? My academic journey has been quite complex and there have been various moments along the way that have led me down this path, as you can see from the map.

After school, I studied Health and Social Care at college and then went on to textiles, graphics, and photography. I had been told by tutors/careers advisors at the time that would be unemployable, that I wouldn’t survive a city, and that a degree was out of the question. I dropped out and got a job in retail and left for an apprenticeship in admin, which ended in an industrial tribunal which I won.  

I did African Studies at SOAS. I discovered I enjoyed film and decided to do a masters in Global Cinema. During this time, I began working in retail again and transferred to Glasgow. I took some open-access courses at the University of Glasgow.  I continued to work, taking on various voluntary roles on the side. I did another Masters in Adult Education at the university, as I wanted a career change. I left my job in retail and volunteered for a while, then Covid happened. I worked in the community section of Co-Op and worked at that for a while before coming to do my PhD.   

Along the way, I have seen, heard and experienced many social injustices and systemic failures. I wanted to combine my knowledge, skills and experiences to address issues within education, as I believe this is key. I’d like to shoutout to some of my mentors – Seraphin, Kwadwo, Mark, Marcus, Kasia, Helen, Robert, Katie, Aaron, Kate, Barbara, Lisa, Srabani, Susan, the RC&RD team, and many friends along the way. 

 What gets you excited about your field? Possibility is what excites me! I fall into the following areas in my PhD: anticolonialism, abolitionism, media analysis, higher education, cultural studies, ethnomusicology, post-qualitive and post-disciplinary work. Part of my work around the PhD is to avoid categorisation and this is why I sometimes sound vague when people ask! 

Beyond the PhD, I have many other research interests such as socio-historical/political aspects, film and music, social protest movements, anti-racist praxis, literature (both oral and written), urban studies, LGBTQ+ and Black histories, and sociolinguistics. These have taken a back seat whilst I do the PhD, but I try to keep current where possible! I have some potentially interesting projects brewing in the future, post-PhD. 

Wow, you keep busy - what do you like to do when you're not deep in research? So many things, but I’ll give a few examples. 

Listening to music – I just got my Spotify wrapped 2024 and I’ve listened to 3,333 artists this year! I love the arts across the board. I spent last summer on the Bauhaus and The Blue Rider trails across Germany but there are some great museums and galleries in Scotland. I’m into films. I don’t have a favourite but range from “The Green Knight” to “Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony”. I like walking. I’d recommend a day trip out to Chatelherault Country Park – autumn time is particularly beautiful. I’m a big reader of both fiction and non-fiction., I recently finished “Goodbye to Berlin”, “Guapa”, “Why Detroit Matters” and” Concerning the Spiritual in Art”. 

  What drew you to this internship programme specifically? I had been exploring the possibility of going part-time in study and went to a careers workshop, – which I found out was for undergraduates when I arrived. During the workshop I sort of began unintentionally mentoring an undergrad student about careers. One of the career's advisors overheard our conversation and suggested maybe I should investigate careers advice. I decided to explore this area, and the internship came up with a career’s focus, so I applied and gained the internship. 

I’d previously been a voluntary E2E (Entry 2 Employment) support tutor for youths in Dorset and really enjoyed it. In my MSc in Adult Education, I had a placement which turned into a three-year voluntary support tutor role in Employability/Adult Literacy skills which was an amazing experience. I wanted to find out more about different contexts of careers services which seemed ideal in the role. 

I hope to gain some great experience from this internship. I wanted to do something around careers though as I really enjoy hearing about unexpected twists and turns in people’s careers and education experiences.  

Your favourite writing places? Anywhere I can eat, drink and listen to music (pretty much constantly!) – informal spaces are best, or increasingly at home. I find office desks too restrictive and official! 

  Dan is currently a third-year PhD candidate in education.