Lisa Clarke, 27
PA to Company Secretary

'I have been with St John Ambulance for over 3 years.

I provide secretarial and administrative support to the Company Secretary and three Senior Volunteers (the Prior, Chancellor and Dean). I organise their diaries and type up various minutes and distribute papers and documents for meetings, including Council and Chapter meetings. I also make sure that the three high profile Senior Volunteers have all the support they need to perform their duties for the Priory and St John Ambulance which includes them attending a lot of important events.

I left secondary school after completing and achieving my GCSE's and went onto college to study art and design – mainly photography. Once I passed my course I went to work for a photographic agency as a receptionist. Whilst completing that full time job I did sell a few pictures but the market is very competitive so I decided to pursue the administrative route! I went on a number of courses whilst working at various companies and in 2005 passed my RSA Level 2 Secretarial exams to gain a recognised Secretarial qualification. It was shortly after completing that, that I got a position at St John Ambulance.

I love feeling useful and having four men to look after definitely makes me feel that way! The best aspect of my role is when a meeting or conference you have been organising for some time – from booking the meeting room and organising catering to making a list of all the delegates attending and sending out the papers – has gone well and everyone has been happy with the arrangements. Even at the end when you're tired, you get a sense of achievement that you made that happen.

St John Ambulance is very unique. I love history and St John has a lot of it and not many organisations can say that. It is also an organisation that is very keen on helping others and saving lives. To work for St John Ambulance makes you feel that even though you are not out in the ambulances yourself – somewhere along the line you may have helped to save a life.

If people feel like they want to make a difference to people's lives and get involved in St John Ambulances' great history (and even add to it) then working in one of the county offices around the country or at NHQ can be fulfilling.'