Sheffield Girls' hosts live lunch with alumna Lucy Garside

Before breaking up for the summer holidays, Sheffield Girls’ welcomed alumna Lucy Garside as the guest speaker in our latest ‘Live Lunch’ speaker series hosted by our Head of Careers, Sarah Metcalfe-Murgatroyd. Lucy was joined at lunchtime by girls from the Senior School for an informal question and answer session about her inspirational career journey. She spoke about how she began life after Sheffield Girls’ by following a traditional route into University, but ended up steering in a very different direction. This wonderful session radiated resilience and positivity and we are sure will have encouraged our girls to follow their true passions in life. 

Lucy Garside left Sheffield Girls’ in 2005, then attended Art College for a year before starting to study Fashion Design at the University of Leeds. During the ‘Live Lunch’ Lucy shared with us how she made the brave decision to leave University during her second year as she realised that Fashion Design was not her true calling. She saw an advert for a job as a 999 call handler and felt this was the opportunity she had been looking for. It was an exciting, challenging role and when the chance came to apply to be a constable in the Police, after working as a 999 call handler for several months, Lucy knew this was what she was meant to do. 

Fast forward fifteen years and Lucy has worked her way up through the ranks and is now a Detective Sergeant after working across Safeguarding Adults, Domestic Abuse, Child Abuse, Major Crime and Prison Crime. Lucy now works HQ within the Senior Command Team. She works directly for the Deputy Chief Constable on the strategic direction of the force and is also qualified as Serious and Complex Interview Advisor and is an accredited Specialist Child Abuse Investigator. 

During the Live Lunch, we were inspired by Lucy’s courage and her passion for women in male dominated workplaces, like the Police. She detailed how she had faced challenges forging a pathway for herself within a powerful masculine organisation but that she is determined to show that women can be successful in their careers and at home too. Lucy answered questions from students about balancing her career and being a mother. She acknowledged that there is still a long way to go but that she celebrates the progress that is being made. Lucy set up a Parents Network after she returned from maternity leave with her son and is a Wellbeing Champion for South Yorkshire Police. 

We were so inspired by Lucy’s talk and we are so proud to have contributed to her journey. Lucy shared that her next career goal is to become a Detective Inspector, and we can’t wait to celebrate with her when she achieves this aspiration. 

Felicity, Year 12, said: “Talking with Lucy has given me a boost of confidence to study criminology at University and go into the Police, if she can do it - so can I!”

Find out more about Lucy and many of our other inspirational alumnae here:

https://www.sheffieldhighschool.org.uk/alumnae/our-alumnae