Vinny Pemberton

Profile

Vinny originally graduated in 2013 to work as a consultant but found himself drawn back to Heriot-Watt in 2021, a place where he experienced the most incredible moments of his life.

Celebrating a First-Class honours in Geography, Vinny has put in over 1,100 hours of volunteering at the Sports Union and is excelling in his new role as our Sports Union President for the coming year.

Vinny’s story of success is clear, no matter your background, no matter your age, you can achieve your dreams!

What programme did you study and why did you choose it?

I studied Physical Geography as I have always enjoyed a more natural setting and learning about the many natural processes across our globe. I chose this degree to lean more into biodiversity specifically and how this can be protected alongside our ever-growing societies.

Can you tell us more about why you made the return to higher education?

I originally chose to study at Heriot-Watt for its surroundings, as the campus is so beautiful. But after four years, the Sports Union and other student communities became a huge part of my life. Volunteering and helping others engage with the many facilities was something I became very passionate about.

But the career I gained after this was the very opposite in nature, and it was hard to keep smiling day by day, which is not who I am or who I want to be.

So, in search of a better future, and certainly to have a more positive impact on those around me, I returned to the one place that meant the most to me – Heriot-Watt!

What advice would you give to a mature student considering Heriot-Watt?

Quite simply, you can achieve anything that anyone else can. I genuinely felt like I was going to be isolated within my cohort because I was at least a decade older than most of students I was studying alongside.

But though there is a natural social 'difference' between the 'generations', you will not be isolated. If anything, your extra experience, your journeys and your adventures will make for an interesting story to share with others, and all of my best friends are now those I started alongside four years ago.

In terms of extra engagement, strive for it! I put in a huge amount of volunteering within the Sports Union because I am so passionate about it, and now I write this as Sports Union President, elected by the very students I once thought I would be isolated from.

What’s your favourite / most memorable moment from your time as a Heriot-Watt student?

That's a difficult question! It might have to be our Sports Union Ceilidh in October 2023. I was just starting my third year when I founded the Ice-Skating Club, something I would never have guessed I would have gotten involved with, and Grace Poxon and I were so committed to seeing it work, and grow, and become a glistening community.

We had put in a lot of effort to make it what it was, and for the ceilidh we had 10 members join. A small group, but for a brand-new club, this was a fantastic achievement. It was the first time I genuinely had this overwhelming positivity in my life since my previous job knocked me down a peg. I cried a lot that night, with very happy emotions, and since then I have never looked back.

What extra-curricular activities have you gotten involved with?

I've been involved with a lot over the years, from being an academic Class Representative and School Officer, to Sports Union club committees, Vice President, and now President! I really enjoy my recreational sport as well, being mostly involved with ice skating, table tennis, and cheerleading. Although, I completed a personal goal last year to try all 34 sports on offer at the Sports Union just because I could and I learnt a lot about myself along the way!

To anyone reading this, I highly recommend trying and getting involved. Why not try out the 34 different sports yourself?

What are you planning to do after you graduate?

I am currently the Sports Union President for the coming year, so that's the short term. Within this, my main goal is to effectively build up the community, help the clubs be more self-sustained in terms of management, and ensure that everything required to be their best is easily accessible! The foundations already exist, I just want to make it clear and accessible, and from there help the clubs excel! My ambitious goal under that is to get all 34 sports clubs to be Bronze WattMark minimum.

Looking to the long term, I did my dissertation on biodiversity. The research question was one that I proposed myself, but at the time I didn't really know too much, I simply had an idea based on a visual observation. My supervisor, Clayton Magill, helped me go so much further with that question than I could have imagined, and I really hope I can continue that research via a PhD after my sabbatical term.