Lizzie Sagoo, Soil Scientist and Director at ADAS, is passionate about giving back through volunteering. She joined Form the Future’s Ambassador community a year ago, engaging in activities including Mock Interviews at Swavesey Village College and presenting at the Careers in Agri-Tech, Farming, and Logistics webinar.
Name: Lizzie Sagoo
Current position: Soil Scientist and Director
Organisation: ADAS
What other jobs did you do, before this one?
This was my first job out of university! I joined ADAS as a junior soil scientist following my PhD in 2003 and have worked my way up from there.
Complete this sentence: “When I was growing up, I wanted to be..."
“When I was growing up, I wanted to join the army!”
Best piece of career advice you have ever been given?
Be kind and treat others with respect – you’ll be happier, and others will want to work with and support you.
When and why did you start volunteering with Form the Future?
I first signed up about a year ago. I helped at Mock interviews at Swavesey Village College in May and presented at the Form the Future Careers in Agri-Tech, Farming, and Logistics insights webinar in June. I hope to join more events in 2025.
What do you like most about being an Ambassador and/or what keeps you coming back?
I think it’s really important to give back and support others. It’s also great fun and very rewarding.
How do you know that volunteering with Form the Future makes a real difference to young people (do you have a story you can share, that illustrates this)?
We had some great feedback from the mock interviews. All the students got written feedback from us (the interviewers), and the school said the students were buzzing afterwards and really valued the written feedback they’d been given.
Putting aside the benefit to the student, how else has volunteering with Form the Future been a beneficial experience for you?
I’ve attended the October Ambassador Get-Together and really enjoyed the session on presenting to students – it got me thinking about how I deliver presentations, and not just to students!
What would you say to someone who’s wondering whether to sign up as an Ambassador with Form the Future? (or) Why would you recommend volunteering with us to a fellow professional?
I’d definitely encourage others to get involved. Who better to showcase the huge diversity of different career options open to students than those of us doing those jobs!
We share the Ambassador Spotlight in our monthly Ambassador Update emails, as well as on our website and social platforms. It’s a wonderful way to raise the profile of your own volunteering whilst supporting Form the Future in a new and different way.
If you’d like to feature in our next Ambassador Spotlight, email Dawn, our Ambassador Engagement Manager and she’ll send you questions to respond to.