Heather Browning

A fond or happy memory of your time at ANU

My best memories of my time at ANU have been in my involvement with the grad student community. In particular, the philosophy student community is particularly strong, and we would have a twice-yearly coastal getaway, in which we cooked and ate together, played games and shared our work, building bonds that helped me make it through my years as a PhD student.

Post-graduation plans

Post-graduation, I am taking up a 3-year position as a Research officer in animal sentience and welfare, at the London School of Economics. I will be working as part of Dr Jonathan Birch’s Foundations of Animal Sentience project, which was funded by a grant from the European Research Council. I'll be focussing specifically on issues in how animal sentience relates to animal welfare concerns, which tracks very closely to my thesis topic.

Words of support or hope to your fellow graduand cohort

In some ways graduation can be as scary as it is exciting, because we have to face the job market and our uncertain futures, but don’t forget to take time to celebrate and be proud of what we’ve achieved (and find excuses to use your Dr title wherever you can - I still get a thrill every time I see it written down!).

Here's a photo I took on the day I submitted my thesis, posing with the ’thesis pig’, which the philosophy students use to motivate finishing up their thesis - the person closest to submission keeps the thesis pig in their office and then passes it on to the next student.