Anamarija Veic (MSc Developmental Disorders, 2018) tells how her study at Lancaster piqued her interest in further study and a role at the University of Iceland.

"My MSc year in England was originally meant to be a brief foray abroad; a chance to experience a different academic environment. Little did I know that my time at Lancaster University, studying Developmental Disorders from 2017 to 2018, would spark my interest in pursuing a PhD.

The faculty at Lancaster was extraordinary, encouraging students to think outside the box and explore our unique interests. Their support in navigating the PhD application process proved invaluable, and I feel fortunate to have been surrounded by such inspiring mentors.

I was thrilled to secure a fully funded PhD position at the University of Reading, an opportunity that would not have been possible without the strong foundation provided by Lancaster's MSc programme. The course equipped me with a solid understanding of autism, which I was able to build upon during my doctoral research exploring musical and linguistic abilities in autistic people.

That journey began with my MSc dissertation on figurative language comprehension and its links to autistic traits, supervised by Dr Francesca Citron. It's a small world: I actually bumped into Francesca at a conference in Toulouse, France, in May 2026. The encounter brought back many fond memories of my time at Lancaster, and it was wonderful to catch up.

After completing my PhD, I continued as a Research Assistant at Middlesex University, where I explored mental health among Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel. Once again, the skills I had developed at Lancaster, particularly my training in qualitative research methods and the experience gained through my first internship, played an important role in helping me secure that position.

I later joined the University of Cambridge as a Clinical Trial Manager and Postdoctoral Researcher. While working there, I even had the opportunity to attend a Lancaster alumni meet-up in Oxford. Connecting with fellow alumni and sharing our experiences was a wonderful reminder of the strong and supportive network we have built over the years.

Outside of academia, my seven years in England were also shaped by a love of running. I particularly enjoyed taking part in parkruns and participating in charity races, which became an important part of my life during that time. I have continued running since moving abroad and completed my first half marathon last year. This year, I will be taking on my first full marathon while raising funds and awareness for endometriosis through a charity initiative in Iceland. Running has taught me many of the same lessons that have guided my academic journey: perseverance, adaptability, and the value of setting new challenges.

Today, I work as a postdoctoral researcher in Iceland, investigating multilingualism. I see the variety of roles I have held as a strength, reflecting a mindset I first developed during my time at Lancaster: staying curious and remaining open to change.

In fact, I still remember sitting in a lecture in 2017 when our professor asked us to choose a single word that best describes development. After some thought, I gave the answer our lecturer was looking for: change. Nearly a decade later, that lesson still resonates with me. Change has shaped every stage of my career, and it is something I continue to embrace every day."