Profile
Maxine Sharps
My CV
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Education:
The County High School Leftwich, Northwich.
Sir John Deane’s College, Northwich
The University of Liverpool (undergraduate degree in Psychology)
Liverpool John Moore’s university (Masters degree in Health Psychology)
The University of Liverpool (PhD – looking at how to get children to eat more fruit and vegetables).
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Qualifications:
10 GCSE’s A* – C
A-levels (A-C – Art, Biology, Psychology)
BSc Psychology
MSc Health Psychology
PhD in Psychology
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Work History:
In order of when I started working:
Charlie’s cafe, Northwich – waitress (2 years)
Tall trees petrol station, Northwich – customer service assistant (1 year)
Liverpool John Moore’s University, Liverpool – student advocate (helped on taster days when secondary students visited the university) (1 year while studying for MSc)
Carer for two young men with learning disabilities (18 months)
Healthy eating intervention coordinator (1 year)
Marks and Spencer’s in the cafe (3 months)
NHS health checker (3 months before starting PhD)
Mad scientist (ran after school clubs while studying for my PhD)
Postdoctoral researcher (University of Leeds for 1 year)
Postdoctoral researcher (Coventry University for 18 months)
Lecturer De Montfort University (3 years so far)
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Current Job:
Lecturer in Psychology at De Montfort University
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About Me:
I’m Maxine and I’m a Lecturer at De Montfort University in Leicester. I live in Birmingham with my husband and baby and in my spare time I like running, yoga, baking, and spending time with friends and family.
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I’m originally from Cheshire but have moved around the country as part of my job. Sometimes as a scientist you end up moving lots to work with different people. I’ve lived in Liverpool, Leeds, and Birmingham, and have travelled to Los Angeles as part of my job.
I really enjoy being a scientist and researching eating behaviour, but also make sure I make time to do my hobbies, such as running and generally keeping fit.
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As part of my job I teach topics such as child development (i.e. how children learn language, how children’s eating behaviour develops) and eating behaviour. The main things I’m interested in are our eating habits, in particular, how other people around us (such as friends and family) affect our eating, and believe me, they do! For example, if we have a meal with a group of people we’re likely to eat more than if we eat with just one or two people.
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My Typical Day:
Every day is different as a scientist working at a university. Every day involves a good breakfast (always porridge), plenty of cups of tea, and reading emails, speaking to students, and sometimes teaching and meetings. I work from about 8.30-4.30 so I have plenty of time to do other things I enjoy too.
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If I’m working at home then I have a bit more time in the morning so I do a workout and then have breakfast. If I’m working on campus (at university) I tend to get up super early (6am) and eat breakfast when I get to the uni.
My days usually start by reading emails, then sometimes I have teaching, sometimes I have meetings, and I try and get some writing done every day. If I’m on campus then I have lunch with one of my colleagues/friends.
I generally work 8.30-4.30 so I have plenty of time to spend with my family in the evenings.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
If I won the money I would invite students from secondary schools in Leicester (where I work) to come into the university to look at the labs and have a go at different experiments. They could have a go at being the experimenter and the participant and see the types of things that happen at the university.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Chatty food enthusiast
What did you want to be after you left school?
No idea. It took me until university to figure that out. I just took A level subjects that I enjoyed
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not really, I was pretty well behaved
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Ed Sheeran
What's your favourite food?
I love lots of food, such as curry, cake, pizza and bagels
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1. I wish to travel more and see different counties such as Argentina. 2. I wish to stay healthy and happy and live a nice long life. 3. I wish for my baby to sleep nice long nights so I can sleep for 8 hours in a row again!
Tell us a joke.
Why couldn't the pony sing a lullaby? She was a little horse.
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