A single mother working as a behavioural scientist, Dr Rachael Singleton had always hoped she might one day pursue a PhD. She says Ulster University was the only one she applied to, as she believed it would best provide opportunities for research impact, something of great importance to her. Rachael’s father Tony Singleton had also taught here previously, so she says “it always felt a bit special to me”.
Rachael explains how the Covid-19 pandemic, which began shortly after she took up her PhD studies, had a profound impact on her family's life: “I have a lung condition that meant I needed to be particularly careful, so I started working from home very early on in the Pandemic.
“I was lucky to have had the opportunity to work as a behavioural scientist to support Northern Ireland's Covid response and this allowed me to focus on something productive (beyond my PhD) at that very precarious time.
“I found it very painful when my father then contracted the virus and died. His belief in me, and my ability, was unfaltering.”
Support from friends, colleagues and institution
Her father is one of three people Rachael has dedicated her thesis to, alongside her son Sam, and her best friend, Eamon, who passed away two weeks after she was accepted to pursue her PhD.
Despite these two very significant losses in her life, Rachael’s resilience is evident, and she has excelled while working on her research, which entailed finding out how behavioural science can reduce beach littering.
She says: “I very quickly felt supported by the Doctoral College and by other PhD researchers. I set out expecting to do research and to produce a thesis to reflect that, but it's been about so much more. I've had lots of opportunities to develop wider skills – technical, academic and communication based – and it's been a joy to see the work I've done being received so positively by policy makers, our local councils and other academics.
“My standout memory is the first time I delivered a lecture. I arrived early and allowed myself to remember my father and how he stood preparing for his first class. He had brought me into work at Ulster on several occasions when I was a young child, and this came back to me at that point. It was a moment I'll never forget, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to follow in his footsteps and to honour his memory in some small way.”
A milestone for mother and son
Taking up a post as an Ulster University lecturer in September 2024, Rachael has loved following in her father’s footsteps. She says: “I am so happy to have the support of my head of department to continue carrying out research in areas that matter to me. I love exploring the many opportunities for bringing behavioural science into the way we work and the way we live, and not least the way we engage with our natural environment.”
Celebrating her success with good friends Gillian and Peter, and her son, Sam, Rachael is delighted to be graduating from the Ulster University Doctoral College. Sam leaves Belfast to study neuroscience in Exeter in September, so Rachael sees graduation day as a milestone for them both to celebrate what they have each worked hard for, and survived, during the past five years.
Acknowledging the love and support behind her achievements, Rachael concludes: “Three people inspired me to pursue a PhD. Sam, who consistently shows enormous tenacity and resilience and who was an inspiration throughout my PhD; Eamon, who instilled in me the confidence to apply for my PhD; and my father.”
