Malvern Alumnae 100 Profile

Laura Taylor, MGC 1986 Leaver

Dr Laura Young MBE is a social entrepreneur and founded Teapot Trust, an East Lothian-based charity dedicated to providing art therapy in hospitals and mental health units to children coping with chronic conditions. She received an Honorary Doctorate from Queen Margaret University in 2015, and in 2016 was awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to children in Scotland. Laura was very proud to be made 54^th Scotswoman of the Year, in February 2017.

Her school friends will remember her as someone who gave anything a go. Not particularly sporty in the traditional sense (no great ball co-ordination for team sports), she enjoyed swimming and dance at school.  However, it was in music that she found a passion, playing the flute and singing in the choir.  She remembers racing down the stairs to get a good sewing machine and loving making jewellery at the weekends when not heading out on D of E expeditions. Despite her artistic tendencies, a love of science led Laura to read Chemistry at the University of Bristol.

Laura trained at the Science Museum London and remains an ardent supporter of museums and heritage crafts and believes that referencing our past can help create ideas for the future.  She is on the Court of Queen Margaret University and a Trustee of the National Museum of Scotland. She relishes the opportunity to be involved in any form of crafting. A competent knitter, Laura is interested in Slow Fashion and tries to sew her own clothes whenever time allows. At an event in Downing Street to celebrate National Women’s Day in March 2017, Laura wore a dress she had made herself, to emphasise the importance of doing art and being creative alongside exercise, eating well and sleeping well as a route to good well-being in life.

A champion for improving hospital experiences for children and young people through arts and creative therapies, Laura continues to be a campaigner for Making and the Arts being key to good mental well-being.

What is your best piece of advice?

You can do and be whatever you like, but to be successful you alone have the power to turn the trials and tribulations of life into stepping stones. Feelings of sadness and happiness are both comparative feelings. We need to have felt one to understand the other, importantly remember neither feeling can last forever. Whilst we can look for helping hands along the way, you alone make the jump to the next stepping stone and no one can do that but you.

What does success look like?

Being the best version of yourself.