Joanne Kingham: BSc Hons Marketing and Pharmacology

Joanne Kingham

Marketing and Pharmacology BSc Hons, 2003

"I work for Napp Pharmaceuticals."

After more than 25-years of professional dance training, the last place Joanne Kingham thought she’d end up was in a lecture theatre at the University of Luton.

Jo, now 29, trained in classical ballet at the Arts Education School in Tring, from the ages of 12-18 years, where she took her GCSEs and A Levels, while developing her skills to become a professional dancer.

After years of travelling the world by working as a dance captain on cruise ships, as well as participating in a couple of West End shows, Jo was forced to give up her dream of becoming a dance examiner at the young age of 26.

A persistent knee injury bought to light a more serious problem. Jo was diagnosed with early osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, which is one of the oldest and most common types of arthritis. Specialists told Joanne that if she didn’t stop dancing within six months, she wouldn’t be walking by the time she reached the age of 30.

“I was devastated,” explained Jo. “All my life I’ve danced, since I was four years old. To be told that I couldn’t do it anymore was heartbreaking. It meant that I had to rethink my whole life. I’d always planned on becoming a dance examiner and owning my own dance school.

“I started having physiotherapy four times a week during a six month period, and it certainly helped a lot but I’ll never be able to dance professionally again.”

Performing Arts school had taught Jo to be confident and bubbly, so when she was forced to reconsider her career, these were obvious traits that Jo could use. Jo decided she would further her education and applied to the University of Luton to study for a marketing degree.

“I’m from Dagnall, which is near Whipsnade, so the University of Luton was an obvious choice for me,” said Jo. “I was in my mid-twenties when I started my degree and didn’t want to live in student accommodation, so decided to stay at home in 5 star luxury!

“I enrolled on a Marketing and Human Biology degree and completed the first year. I then took a year out in order to get some work experience within the field I was studying. I was very lucky to gain an administration position with AstraZeneca, an international pharmaceutical company based in Luton.

“After working with AstraZeneca for the year, I decided to change my degree minor from Human Biology to Pharmacology. When I went back in 2001, I carried on working part-time at AstraZeneca and also managed a clothing business with my mum, which meant I had no student debt to worry about.”

Jo graduated in 2003 with a first class honours and rewarded herself with a month in Australia, before returning to Dagnall and applying for jobs.

“I really thought gaining a first would make me stand out, as that’s what we’d been told, but to be honest, it was the experience that I’d gained at AstraZeneca that gave my CV that extra something.

“I registered with a couple of agencies and was sent for two interviews, which resulted in two job offers! I accepted a position with Napp Pharmaceuticals where I am now a Medical Saleswoman. I promote new medical products to hospitals and GP surgeries, and am sitting my Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry exams in May.”

Jo added: “My dream car has always been a silver Golf GTI and the nearest I thought I’d ever come to having one was the screensaver on my computer! But thanks to this new job, I am now the proud owner of my very own Golf!”

Interview took place in 2004.