Where Morna takes you

Current career, studies or future plans

I am currently in the final year of my MSc Physician Associate Studies at the University of Leeds. Following completion of my national exams, I am due to qualify as a registered Physician Associate (PA) this autumn. I hope to begin my career as a PA after qualifying and look forward to applying the knowledge and clinical skills I have developed throughout my studies.

How Morna helped shape my journey

Morna International College played an important role in shaping my academic and personal journey, providing me with a supportive and diverse environment in which I developed confidence, independence and resilience. The school's international environment broadened my perspective and encouraged me to embrace different cultures and experiences, skills that have been invaluable throughout my studies at Cardiff University and the University of Leeds. As I prepare to qualify as a Physician Associate, I am grateful to Morna for helping shape my ambitions and providing the foundations for my future career in healthcare.

University environment

Top-tier medical training within a dynamic and academically demanding university setting. My academic focus is gaining comprehensive clinical knowledge, practical skills and theoretical expertise.

Degree, studies and future plans

• International experience — head abroad to expand my knowledge, learn from different healthcare systems, and enhance my medical skills.
• Long-term goal — return home with valuable international experience to practice medicine and settle down permanently on the island.

How school shaped my journey

• Passion for learning — the teachers' dedication inspired a genuine passion for every subject I took.
• Unwavering support — having supportive teachers who were always there to help with any question was instrumental in keeping me motivated and achieving my academic goals.

Favourite Morna memory

A bittersweet moment for me was giving the end of school speech, celebrating what my peers and I had achieved, thanking those who inspired us, and giving the next generation my two pence — it marked a heartfelt end of an era.

A member of staff who made a difference

Zahrah, Head of Sixth Form and my Chemistry teacher, inspired me to pursue Chemistry and give my studies my all, whilst also being there for me if and when I had any problems during my formative years.

Where I am now

I have been working professionally as a singer and songwriter since the age of 15, performing at a high level five nights a week alongside artists and performers from productions including Cirque du Soleil and the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Now a full-time songwriter and vocalist, I work primarily across the house music scene, with releases on Danny Howard’s label, Nothing Else Matters. I am currently involved in sessions with artists including Josh Baker, Manu Gonzalez, Ammo Avenue and Elliot Schooling, with my collaboration with Manu Gonzalez and Ammo Avenue surpassing 100,000 streams. Alongside my music career, I spent a year studying abroad at Columbia University, achieving straight A’s. During my time there, I became the first exchange student to open Columbia’s renowned student music festival, Bacchanal, performing in front of thousands of students and opening for Waka Flocka Flame. From performing professionally from a young age to writing and releasing music with established names in the house scene, I have built my career around versatility, high-level performance and songwriting.

Favourite Morna memory

I have so many memories that span such a large portion of my life that it is hard to choose just one. They range from being six years old, running across the old primary tarmac to my older brother Tom in Secondary after being told not to (which, if I’m honest, was a running theme for me as a student at Morna), to simply meeting what are now my chosen family, the group of friends I made during my time there. Now, at 21, having lived in four different cities since leaving Ibiza, the one constant in my life has been the friends I made at Morna. They are, and always will be, the reason for everything I strive to be: kind, loving and understanding towards everyone I meet and everything I experience.

My time at Morna and advice to current students

My time at Morna is absolutely unmatched. From annual Christmas school plays, whether I was playing a poppy flower in The Wizard of Oz or Sandy in Grease, to sports days nearing the summer, followed two weeks later by Speech Days where you would hear the older students speak about their future endeavours. The charity marathons, the Tuc Shop, the second-language musicals, or rounders with Leon, these are the memories that make my time at Morna so special. If I had one piece of advice, it would be to treat school the same way you treat your family. These are people you grow alongside during some of the most important years of your life, and you never know which lessons will end up being the most important along the way. As a student who did not have the most linear journey, the one thing that has led me to where I am today is genuinely having an open heart towards the people who wanted me to succeed, both academically and personally. It is not uncool to be interested in books, and it does not make you cooler to be interested in music. Every passion, interest, intelligence and pursuit is as valuable as the next. Morna taught me that whether you are an artist or a mathematician, every person has something valuable to offer, regardless of their background. That is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.