Those weeks were a blur of rabies shots, research and a leaden dread upon my realising that the researcher wouldn’t be coming with us. Her absence meant that much more of the shoot was resting on my shoulders.

One of the researcher’s most important tasks on location is offloading the rushes - to make sure that everybody’s hard work doesn’t disappear. The filming trip would be my first time doing it outside of training. The edit assistant was my salvation as he showed me how to do it and ensured I could settle in without freaking out. Without him I’m sure I would’ve given up on TV and joined the locals.

Ethiopia was incredible. Who would have thought that I could go from living with my mum in Holland to filming a Bodi woman undergo scarification in two years? I’m sorry, but that is just absurd.

It wasn’t all sunshine, in reality or metaphorically. There were torrential storms and the heat hit 49 degrees at one point. Most days were spent conducting translations: the translator would tell me what someone said and I would note it down in the software along with the correct time codes. It was hot and dusty and we had one toilet that steadily accumulated everyone’s waste. But mostly it was spectacular.

I got to talk to the locals and figure out what they knew about hyenas; watch the rest of the crew shoot a scene; watch that footage in the rushes and think about what else we needed for the film. I soaked up every bit of information I could. There are a lot of quirks and nuances you notice on the ground that don’t show up in research, however thorough.

For instance, Bodi women are free to sleep with many boyfriends before marriage without any stigma attached - which I took as a strong feminist policy. Was this the feminist utopia I had been searching for? Not quite: further investigation revealed there is still a lot of inequality in different forms.

Quite possibly my favourite part of the trip was when I shot a film about Bodi fashion for the programme website. A local woman whom I’d befriended, Thorok T’onui, put on local make-up and scarified herself while my camera whirred.

Ethiopia was fantastic as a country and as a shoot. Being around seasoned professionals and just getting on and doing the work made me a much better researcher. It was an experience of a lifetime and I learned a lot - chief among them a lot of words with no practical application in the rest of my life.

Tumo ke tonomi! (Thank you.)

It’s safe to say that when I was 19 and 20 minutes away from starting a shift at my part-time retail job, I was more than stunned to receive a call telling me I’d secured a job at the BBC. If you had told me that after going to a state school, college, and then making the decision not to go to university, that a year later I’d be working for the BBC, I would never have believed it. I was completely overwhelmed with shock, happiness and pride that I could tell my family I now worked for the BBC. I was ready to throw myself into the deep end and grab the opportunity with both hands!

My background is mainly in theatre, and after college I spent a year working as a young director at The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. I have virtually no media experience at all except a GCSE in Media Studies, so on walking into my BBC office on my first day, I had no idea what to expect. My apprenticeship is split into two placements, working as a runner on CBeebies for six months, and then as a production management assistant on CBBC for another six months, which allows me to get a feel for the editorial and production side of TV. It’s a completely new way of working for me, and I’m still adjusting to the steady and then suddenly rapid schedules of TV production, but I’m lucky enough to have a kind and supportive team behind me to help me learn and grow.

Last year, in November, less than a month into the job, I got the chance to work on the CBeebies Christmas Pantomime The Nutcracker at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The BBC had created a Santa’s Grotto worthy Winter Wonderland for 2000 of our youngest audience members to enjoy just outside the theatre, with the live performance being filmed and streamed in the square for families to watch.

There’s something incredibly special about being able to interact with the audience who directly receives the content your team works so hard to create. It was wonderful to see the excitement and impact it has on them and their family’s lives. I had so many grateful parents approach me, and there’s nothing like knowing you’ve contributed to a family’s happiness for the day to make you forget you’re stood in the freezing cold dressed as a pirate.

A month later, I got an opportunity to work on a huge BBC event outside of my department – BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. The event was filmed in the Birmingham Genting Arena; and we were there for two 12 hour days to act as celebrity stand-ins, allowing the camera operators to rehearse for the live show. We were rehearsing with Claire Balding, Garry Lineker, Gabby Logan and Robbie Williams!

It was incredible to see the huge amount of dedication and effort that goes into planning for a live show. On the final day, we were lucky enough to get to watch the actual live show. The whole arena was electric, and I’ll never forget the feeling of being surrounded by Olympic Champions and to then turn around and see the arena we’d been rehearsing in for two days filled with 10,000 people, all ready to be broadcast live across the nation to six million viewers.

I remember sitting in my PTS (production trainee scheme) interview, and being asked to talk about the last few years of my experience since graduating from university. I blinked, took a deep breath, and said: “I took the scenic route.”

My path to the PTS was certainly unusual, and not one I could have ever have imagined. But a love of language, people, and the human voice, has led me into a new world of possibilities in radio production at the BBC.

I had grown up listening to BBC radio and it has always been a part of my life. During my Theatre Studies MA at Leeds University, I produced a radio play based on a George Orwell novel, and I loved making it. For some reason it never occurred to me to work in radio. Perhaps I thought it would be too tough to break into. Ironically, it was catastrophe rather than success that opened new doors for me.

Just a year after graduating, I developed a condition called M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). This came as a complete shock – my hopes of a career dwindled, and while I’d made some improvements in my health, I remained significantly affected by the condition. Then in 2013, I experienced a massive relapse. It was one of the most difficult years yet, and I struggled to know how to make sense of things.

Later that year, I went to the Forward Poetry Prize readings at London’s Southbank Centre. I’d always been a poetry lover, and sitting in the auditorium, my head in a dizzying fog, I heard some words that seemed to make sense. Jeannette Winterson, the chair of the prize, spoke with passion about Seamus Heaney and his belief that “poetry should be strong enough to help”. In a time of desolation, these words felt truthful. And I wasn’t going to argue with Seamus Heaney.

A few months later, I received an email from the arts organisation Poet in the City. They were looking for new volunteers, and I decided to join. At the first meeting, I discovered they had a vibrant audio team and I mentioned that I’d once made a radio play, and that I’d love to develop my skills. I soon began interviewing guest speakers and editing recordings with poets, and I initiated and produced the organisation’s podcast. Inspired by the BBC broadcasts I’d listen to at home, I wanted to see if I could make my own programmes too.

With the support and encouragement of colleagues, it was suggested that I approach the BBC. Initially I was sceptical, but sure enough I saw that the Corporation had a disability hub and a scheme called Extend. I watched the online Extend video and read blogs by disabled staff. Feeling heartened, I made my application.

The PTS application process was rigorous, but I felt continually challenged and invigorated: I was being asked to think in new ways, develop myself, and really consider who I was and what I was about. At the hotel room in Birmingham for my final interview, I remember staring at a printout of an article I’d found on the BBC Get Creative website, which I'd kept near my suitcase. It said: “Can poetry really change your life?” I really hoped, and believed, that it could. And it has.

Now three months into the PTS scheme, and I’m working at the BBC’s Radio Documentaries Unit, the largest in the world. It's a privilege to be here, learning from the very best in the field, and gaining skills in research and journalism, recording, and how to construct complex documentary stories. I’m part of a team making work that is truthful and intelligent, surprising and joyful. Broadcasts, which in our confused and troubled times, are strong enough to help.