Barbara McGowan (Biochemistry, 1984)
Barbara studied Biochemistry at Hertford in the 1980s and initially moved into a career in finance, working for Barclays and JP Morgan. However, she was soon drawn back to science and medicine, and is now an obesity specialist based at Guy’s & St. Thomas’s Hospital, London.
I ended up at Hertford largely by chance. My sixth-form tutor had been trying for 25 years to send a student from our local comprehensive school to Oxford, and in 1984 I was the lucky one to get a place. Having moved from Italy 6 years previously, my knowledge of the English language was still a bit rough round the edges and my image of Oxford one for the posh and privileged . I attended my first day with trepidation and anxiety. I will never forget my first Sunday night at formal dinner when I was made to wear a black gown, sit alongside clever scholars, drink Hertford wine and inevitably think ‘what on earth am I doing here’? I soon came to love the Hertford way. It was definitely not exclusive, with many students arriving from a variety of backgrounds which made the atmosphere friendly and relaxed. The chemists were inevitably geeky, the English scholars airy and cool, the geographers lazy but fun.
My best memories of Hertford include getting tipsy on sherry with the college Chaplain, the excitement of early morning rowing on the river, the pimms, Torpids and bumps, the tuck shop, setting up the first Women’s Oxford football team, the memorable Hertford bar lock-downs, Sunday lunch at the King’s Arms, and the weekly phone calls to mum. Memories with my new friends which were free of mobile phones, internet, emails and the shackles of social media. I guess the new generation may struggle to comprehend…
Armed with a biochemistry degree I soon realised that life as a scientist was not for me. At the time, I was hoping to study medicine but the thought of a further 5 years in higher education was enough to suppress those feelings. Most of my friends were joining the City, and I followed suit, spending 2 years at Barclays as an investment banker and a further 3 years at JP Morgan, in New York, London and Milan. It took me 5 years to pluck up the courage to give up banking and pursue a real passion for medicine. I secured a place at the Royal Free Hospital in London and never looked back. During my training, I had 2 wonderful children, squeezed in a PhD and became a Consultant and more recently Reader in Diabetes and Endocrinology. I am currently based at Guy’s & St Thomas’s Hospital and specialise in obesity. My experience in finance has been useful for the post of Treasurer for the Society for Endocrinology and trying to comprehend the complexities of the NHS.