Meet Charley

Growing up it was my Grandad who made me excited about history and archaeology. Together we visited some of the world's most interesting places, from Stone Henge in the UK to Chichen Itza in Mexico.

I'd never considered it could become more than just an interest. When my friends were going off to uni, I took a different path and ended up working in an opticians. I soon realised I needed to make a big decision, stay where I was working or change things up and pursue a career doing what I loved.

I chose to study archaeology at the University of Central Lancashire, and I haven't looked back since.

One of the best parts of the course was the focus on employability as I was concerned before joining that it would be hard to find a job when I graduated. However, I saw the great connection the university has with the commercial side of archaeology. Many graduates have gone straight into employment and I feel this course has prepared us well to do the same.

The four weeks work experience opportunities we got every year really contributed to us being career ready. We were given options of where we could work on dig sites, and became one of the team. It was a great opportunity to experience a real dig and to network with the archaeologists at the site.

There was a range of locations that even included California. I chose to stay in the UK and work at Orkney which is famous for its Neolithic sites. After three days we discovered part of a wall, which although it might not sound it, was really exciting. It pushed us on to dig further and we ended up recovering human remains and tools as well.

I loved every moment and have never looked back since deciding to study archaeology here. I enjoyed it so much that I have moved on to the University's MSci Archaeology course to study for a further year and gain a master's qualification.

I'll graduate this summer and I hope my Grandad will be able to come along and see me start on the career path he inspired!