Danielle O’Neill

 

When did you attend EPCS?
1991 – 1998

What are you most proud of?
Having maintained such a strong group of friends from EP almost 20 years after we left. It’s not easy when people go off to Uni, get married and have kids, but the effort is definitely worth it. There is nothing like seeing people that have known you since you were 11 years old. The stories they can tell!

What is your favourite memory from school?
Sixth form access to Dingley Dell was great. Especially when it came to finding a Christmas tree for the common room.

Would you do anything differently if you had your time at school again?
I probably wouldn’t have spent quite so much time in the 6th form common room. The teachers were right…a bit more time spent revising would have been wise!

What is the most valuable thing you learned at school?
That exam results don’t define your life. If you don’t do as well as you aspired to, it isn’t the end of the world. There are other avenues to go down and you can still end up where you wanted to be, just by a different route.

What did you do immediately after leaving school?
I had a pretty great summer! I then went to Brighton Uni.

Did you go to a college/university?
I went to Brighton University. After 6 weeks I realised it wasn’t for me so left and got a full time job instead. It was a hard decision at the time but I’m glad I did it.

What is your current job?
I’m a PA for the world’s largest brewery, unfortunately though I’m not a beer drinker! I organise international conferences so get to travel which is one of the major perks. Previous to this role, I worked in the City of London for an Investment Bank. That was really good fun, challenging and a great role to open up other opportunities for me.

What region do you currently live in?
Surrey, although I’m a regular visitor back to Bracknell.

What one piece of advice would you give to our students?

Try to be nice to everyone at school…I know people who now regret how they treated others when they were younger. You can’t go back and change that! People will remember!