Hi, I'm Te

I grew up in Barry near Cardiff with my parents and four brothers. I struggled through school, as I was a slow developer. I did speech therapy before I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I got in trouble a lot in school, because I didn’t feel like I was very smart, and I didn’t always get the right support. I did love music, so I went to a further education college to study that. After completing a BTEC, a university took a chance on me and offered me a place on a criminology course, with a foundation year. In my first year I really struggled with my group exercises, so I was reassessed for dyslexia. This reassessment also led to a new discovery of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which meant I was able to access additional help, including one-to-one support and assistive technology. The university also helped me to find the best ways of learning for me, which I’d never really found before. While I was in education I had various part-time jobs, including one in a call centre, one in a shop and one in security at a train station. I joined Deloitte’s Cardiff Delivery Centre as a contractor after graduating, in the personal independence team, which ensures that our people have appropriate financial associations outside of work. I think I was hired because I had a lot of transferable skills from my jobs, which I was able to talk about in the interview.

I’ve had some good opportunities to develop since joining Deloitte. I built up my confidence in my first role and learnt how the business works, before moving into cyber risk, an area I’d been interested in since university. Now I'm an assistant manager in the Cyber Risk team, helping the firm to manage cybersecurity risks, procedures and policies. We help the firm to manage cybersecurity risks. Our services include advice on big projects, making sure security policies are followed, checking security effectiveness, and managing risks related to working with other companies. We also help with data protection, responding to cyber incidents, and managing any risks that might come from third-party suppliers.

I’m also the co-lead for the Neurodiversity Network, which supports people with neurodiversity at Deloitte. In my previous jobs I sometimes struggled to relate to people, so having a space where you can talk about it and be open is really important. I’ve been involved right from the start, and I’ve enjoyed watching it grow and help more people. I’m also a mum, and I had a very difficult pregnancy. During that time, I was able to drop down my hours when needed, and work from home when I was unwell. I was also offered mentoring before and after maternity, which helped me to settle back into my role.