After leaving Hermitage and College, Shiela embarked on a 22-year career in the travel industry, working her way up from a salesperson, to Manager and then Area Manager. She won many awards over this period such as Shop of the year and Manager's Manager of the year on numerous occasions.
Shiela has also worked for a local and national charity, supporting young people with ME/CFS; helping develop a multi-disciplinary approach across the North East and UK and working with leading professionals and key agencies to support young people and their families living with a challenging medical condition. It was in this role that Shiels began her counselling career, becoming a qualified Counsellor.
This training brought Shiela back to the Hermitage, by working as a volunteer in 2006 as a requirement of the course. Once qualified and whilst working full time at the charity, she continued to volunteer for 5 hours a week counselling students.
In 2013, Shiela became responsible for establishing a dedicated counselling service in school to support students by providing young people with an opportunity to talk through their difficulties in a welcoming and supportive environment, and to find their own ways of addressing their issues.
As well as supporting students in school, Sheila also leads the Hermitage Staff Wellbeing Team and was proud to be awarded a First-Class BA Hons Degree in Health and Social Care at the age of 48!
When not in school, Sheila loves to travel and has been fortunate to travel around most of the world due to her past career. A keen skier, she has also assisted in 16 Hermitage school ski trips.