We continue to be extremely proud of the achievements of our people. And this time, the BBA’s Konstantins Kozirevs, an Administrator within our Client Engagement team, deserves a special mention, as he celebrates his graduation from the University of Lincoln with BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science.

Konstantins has been working with the Client Engagement team at the BBA since last October and will soon be making the move across to the insulation team in PAC, based at our Croxley office.

Achieving a Bachelor of Science degree is something he has been working towards from an early age.

“I have had a lifelong interest in science,” says Konstantins, “which started with me reading encyclopaedias as early as the age of 4. As well as that, biology, chemistry, and physics were my best subjects in school. Hence, I decided to pursue a degree which combined something that interested me and something I was proficient in; I decided on Biomedical Science.

“This is so far the most significant achievement of my life as well as being one which marks the start of my career,” Konstantins adds. “It was truly spectacular for my efforts to be recognised in a ceremony at the beautiful Lincoln Cathedral, which has 900 years of history behind it.”

Konstantins says the challenges of the past couple of years meant it was not a straightforward process, but is glad to have overcome the difficulties that surrounded a restricted experience of  University life.

“As the coronavirus pandemic happened right in the middle of my time at university, I was unfortunately not able to experience all the joys of being a university student,” he acknowledges.

“Moreover, it took a lot of strength and perseverance to adapt to new ways of learning; for example, lectures were carried out remotely, and laboratory work was limited to working individually behind plastic screens. I have my mother Jelena to thank for encouraging me to persevere with my degree, as at times I almost felt like giving up with the pressures created by lockdowns piled on top of academic stress. In the end, I am glad that my hard work paid off.

“I believe that my degree will serve as a backbone for my career in STEM, but also as a reminder to where I started, how much work I put in to achieve it, and how far I’ve come.”

Having completed his studies prior to joining the BBA, Konstantins is now looking forward to the next step in his career.

“I am glad to now be working in a team which recognises and encourages this sort of achievement,” he says. “I will shortly be joining the PAC team as a trainee, and I have already been made aware of possible further qualifications that the BBA offers support for, such as chartership.”

Many congratulations, Konstantins – from all of us at the BBA.