MANISHA AGGARWAL STRIVING FOR SUCCESS

Having completed her undergraduate degree in psychology here at LJMU, Manisha knew that she wanted to blend her passion for psychology with her desire to work in sport. An avid dancer, Manisha researched the different careers within sport and found a plethora of jobs surrounding athlete performance and wellbeing. This triggered her exploration of this career path.

“To be able to become an accredited Sport and Exercise Psychologist, I needed to complete stage 1 training which I could gain by doing the master’s,” she explains. “To me, it made sense to stay at LJMU as I knew the campus, loved the city and knew it was good for sports courses.”

During her undergraduate degree, Manisha had a placement with the Merseyside Dance Initiative (MDI) where she was supporting their Dance for Parkinson’s classes. This sparked the exploration of a whole new career that she wasn’t aware of. “I thoroughly enjoyed this placement, but I realised that I actually wanted to help dancer’s themselves with their mental health and performance. This is when I then found out that sport/performance psychology was a thing. It also made me realise how relevant all experience is to helping you to figure out what you want to do with your career. Especially as I was then successful a year later in securing a paid internship with MDI and organised a mental skills project for dancers within the organisation.”

After her move from psychology to sport, Manisha’s supervisors helped her get the most out of her studies. “My supervisor was massively supportive throughout the course and with helping me with my dissertation. I often went to them when I was struggling and they were always happy to help whenever I had any concerns. I also felt I could speak to some of the academic staff about career progression and my own personal concerns that I had wanting to work in sports – luckily they’re psychologists so they were always keen to listen.

It wasn’t long after the completion of her master’s when Manisha landed her first graduate position. “Within a few weeks of finishing, I started my role at University Campus of Football Business (Eithad Campus) as a learning support advisor.” Not only did Manisha develop her academic knowledge during her time at LJMU but she equipped transferable skills that allowed her to land roles that she dreamt of. “I do believe that some of the skills that we learned during the master’s around relationship building and listening skills have helped me in this role.”

Recently, Manisha was successful in applying to study a Professional Doctorate in Sports and Exercise Psychology here at LJMU to get her one step closer to her dream of being a qualified sports psychologist. “This qualification will allow me to complete my stage 2 training, which means I’ll be one step closer to becoming an accredited sport and exercise psychologist.” We are excited to see the next steps for Manisha in her career.