Our Mentors

I am delighted to be acting as a mentor for 'My Academic Family', helping to support first generation university students here in the UK. I have a true passion for helping others reach their full potential, and I hope that I can use my skillset as a successful manager in business to help support a deserving student to follow their dreams at university.

I graduated from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow back in 2009 with a Honours degree in Accountancy. Following that, I continued my studies and successfully qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2012. Since then, I have worked for various different businesses as an in-house financial professional. One of my recent roles was with a company within the utilities sector, where I was responsible for a team of 24 people spread across various UK locations, and my current role is working as Head of Finance and Operations with a fast-growing recruitment business in Glasgow. I have been fortunate to have had a varied and exciting career, and despite people assuming accountants are boring, no two days have been the same!

No matter what stage you are at in life, having a committed mentor will always be invaluable and I am keen to help support the next generation of leaders to reach their full potential at the early stages of their career journeys. If you, or anyone you know would benefit from this service then don't hesitate to get in touch - we look forward to working with you soon!

Gina Snooks is a lover of F words and F sounding words. She holds a PhD in Women’s Studies and Feminist Research (University of Western Ontario), a Master of Gender Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts with a doble major in Women’s Studies and Folklore (Memorial University of Newfoundland). Her academic interests include arts-based research, Pagan studies, and life storytelling. Gina is a photographer who loves creating fictional characters inspired by fantasy, and feminist historical fiction. She resides in northern Alberta, Canada (Treaty 8 Territory) but her heart belongs to the island of Newfoundland and the north Atlantic Ocean.

Gina supports My Academic Family’s work with first-generation university students in Canada.

Daniel was a first-generation student himself when he completed his degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Reading back in 2014. Following this, he went on to gain more than seven years’ experience working within the Higher Education sector with the majority of this time spent working as a Careers Consultant at the University of Reading.

Here, he specialised in working with students studying English and Languages and led on an award-winning project that supported those in their final year of study in making their transition into the world of work. Whilst in this role, Daniel also gained his Postgraduate Diploma in Career Guidance and Development from the University of the West of Scotland.

Daniel has always been passionate about supporting people to be their best, and now works at Glasgow Kelvin College as their Organisational Development Lead. Here, he oversees the staff training and development across the College and leads on key people development initiatives, such as the induction process. Outside of work, Daniel is a keen sports fan, and can often be found keeping up to date with the latest football and cricket results.