Josh is an undergraduate placement student at AstraZeneca in Macclesfield, working as an analytical scientist whilst completing the final year of his master’s degree in Natural Sciences at the University of York. He is also one of the core members of an LGBTQIA+ employee-based group within his department, focused on further inclusion of the queer community within the workplace. Josh has only very recently started being open about his sexuality in public and professional environments, having struggled with coming out as a gay man in years prior. However, he now sees his sexual identity and the experiences associated with his journey as a strength, and takes great pride in utilising this to educate his colleagues on how they can be better allies to the LGBTQIA+ community at work and in the wider world. Outside of work, Josh is an avid gym-goer (when he’s not revising) and loves all kinds of sports, but his favourite thing to do is take spontaneous trips to see live music and shows, or do karaoke – basically any opportunity to have a sing and a dance!

You can listen to Josh's queer anthem 'Everybody's Gay' by Lizzo on our YouTube playlist here.