As a firm, we're committed to enhancing social mobility. Karen Campbell-Williams talks about how her working-class upbringing shaped her drive and passion for learning, and shares insight into our approach.
My parents both left their homes in the remote countryside of Donegal for the chance of a better life in Glasgow. My father worked as a labourer, building roads and bridges, while my mother had a number of jobs, including phone operator and bus conductor.
They worked incredibly hard and were very careful with money. Eventually, my father and uncle built a successful business doing infrastructure work on housing developments and my parents saved enough to buy their first house away from the council estate I had spent my early years in.
Still, starting a new school in a different area of Glasgow was challenging for me. I was quite far behind the other children and had to do remedial work to catch up. I really didn’t like being behind, so I worked hard to close the gap.
My parents were emotionally supportive, but they couldn’t help much with schoolwork. Though they were both intelligent people, neither had the opportunity for much in the way of formal education, both leaving school at a young age.
When it came to choosing a career, I didn't have many family friends or close relatives who had been graduates to tell me how I could prepare, so I had to research courses myself.
I eventually chose accountancy because graduate job prospects were high, but I chose to defer entry to my course by a year to prepare myself for that new environment and in that year undertook more study and exams.
