Emerald McLaughlin

I was at Blackheath High from 2004 to 2019 and valued the sense of community and friendship at school. I feel fortunate to have experienced the environment of opportunity afforded to us and loved having days filled with sports, music, and other less mainstream activities, like Formula 1 Club! 

I then attended Durham University where I undertook a degree in Liberal Arts with a focus on History and Politics. I enjoyed both living in the beautiful historical setting of the North East of England, and the varied nature of my degree. Studying a joint honours course allowed me huge breadth of study and insight into the links between different disciplines. This led to my role as a founding member, journal editor, and later Vice President of the History in Politics Society.

I currently work in social housing for an East London Council where I am employed through the ‘Charityworks’ graduate programme, in a joint role across neighbourhood operations and regulatory assurance. I see first-hand the foundational importance of social housing as a resource and how it can be transformative to people’s lives and communities through providing affordable, safe, and secure homes for people at all stages in their life.