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It’s fair to say that the last 18 months of my life have been a complete whirlwind, which has included learning to drive and owning a car, graduating from university, trips abroad to Berlin and Brugge and, most importantly, starting my first full-time job as a graduate planner at DHA. Now, at the release of this article, I am less than a week away from completing my first year at the Kent- based planning consultancy.

 

I remember in the weeks prior to joining DHA, it felt quite daunting. My only experience in planning was through the conversations I had with my dad, who was a Planner himself, and I was slightly apprehensive about whether my new colleagues would be friendly in such a fast-paced, corporate environment. However, I can safely say that these fears were quickly put to rest.

 

The thing that has stood out to me in my time here, is how friendly everyone is, and how helpful they have been with my frequent questions, taking the time to make sure I understand everything. Whether they are within my team or in the London or Gatwick offices, whether they are a graduate or the Managing Director, everyone has made me feel very welcome here and it has been a pleasure to work with everyone.

 

During my first year, I’ve worked on a broad range of projects involving multiple disciplines. I’ve mainly worked on smaller projects, such as building conversions and single dwellings, but I’ve also helped on several larger, education-based projects. I have also delved into transport planning and started to use GIS, the latter of which I am particularly keen to develop and use further as it was one of my favourite aspects of my undergraduate degree. The wide variety of projects has meant that no day here at DHA has been the same.

 

In my first year, I have also undertaken other aspects of the job that involve being away from the desk, such as attending a public consultation events, attending a public hearing, viewing planning committees, visiting several sites, and attending several networking events, all of which have been great experience and have given me valuable insight into the world of planning.

 

Other highlights of my time here at DHA have included the away day to The Mount Vineyard, taking part in the DHA Bake-Off (despite some dubious scoring of my fantastic homemade sausage rolls!) and competing in a number of football tournaments that we have been invited to.

 

Finally, the Professional Competency Training Course (known colloquially as ‘Grad Days’) has been really useful in expanding and solidifying my knowledge of planning whilst introducing me to other disciplines in planning. It has also been great in helping me getting to know my fellow colleagues on the graduate programme.

 

Overall, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here at DHA and I look forward to many more years of working here!

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