Now working at the heart of the Scottish Government as Private Secretary to the Minister for Higher and Further Education, Beya Thomson’s time at Queen Margaret University helped shape her perspective on public service, policy, and leadership.
Arriving as a mature student, she brought lived experience to her BSc (Hons) Public Sociology (now Sociology), and left with the confidence and insight to navigate complex institutions and contribute at the centre of government.
Why did you choose to study at QMU?
I came to QMU as a mature student following a non-linear route through education, work, and caring responsibilities. I didn’t follow a traditional route into university or the civil service, but I have always been more interested in the journey than the destination.
I originally left school at 16 and studied accounting at college, but did not complete my final year or take up my university place after becoming a full-time carer for my father. Responsibility came early, and formal education paused for a period.
After a long break, I returned to education in 2016 through the Open University, studying Social Sciences alongside family life. That return to learning was a turning point, rebuilding my confidence and changing how I viewed education - not as something missed, but as something still fully accessible.
I later joined Queen Margaret University as a direct entrant into third year. QMU stood out for its applied sociological focus and its emphasis on understanding how people interact with and experience society differently depending on their circumstances and access to support, opportunity, and resources.
What interested you about Public Sociology?
I have always been interested in how individual lives are shaped through wider social contexts, and how people interact with and experience institutions and public services differently depending on their circumstances.
Public Sociology provided a way of understanding how everyday experiences are shaped through the interaction between people and institutions, and how factors such as access, confidence, and life experience influence how those institutions are navigated. That way of thinking has remained central to how I approach public service.
What was the highlight of your time at QMU?
A key strength of the programme was the way sociological theory was consistently connected to real-world contexts, helping to make sense of how social issues are experienced in practice.
I also valued the supportive environment at QMU. The smaller class sizes encouraged discussion and reflection, which helped build confidence in applying sociological thinking to complex issues.
What challenges did you face while studying?
As a mature student, I was balancing academic study with significant family and caring responsibilities.
Alongside my studies, I was raising three children and caring for my son during his recovery from a life-threatening illness. This required resilience, organisation, and adaptability, and shaped my ability to progress while managing competing demands.
Tell us about life after graduation.
I joined Social Security Scotland in April 2022 in a frontline operational delivery role supporting individuals navigating complex public systems. I graduated from Queen Margaret University in July 2022.
In October 2024, I moved into Scottish Government Ministerial Private Office, where I gained promotion into a more senior role supporting ministerial business at the centre of decision-making across a fast-paced policy and parliamentary environment.
Over the past four years within the Scottish Government, I have progressed from frontline operational delivery into ministerial private office. This has given me a strong understanding of how policy is developed and communicated, and how it is experienced differently depending on people’s circumstances, confidence, and ability to navigate institutions in practice.
I now work as Private Secretary to the Minister for Higher and Further Education.
What does your current role involve?
I support the Minister for Higher and Further Education in a Private Secretary role, working at the centre of decision-making. My role involves coordinating advice, managing competing priorities, and ensuring effective communication between Ministers, Special Advisers, and officials across a fast-moving policy environment.
It requires interpreting complex information from different perspectives and translating it into clear advice to support decision-making.
What has been a highlight in your career so far?
A recent highlight was my first international engagement in 2025, attending the EAIE Gothenburg 2025 conference, the annual conference and exhibition of the European Association for International Education.
This provided an opportunity to engage with colleagues from over 100 countries and gain insight into how different higher education systems approach shared challenges in ways shaped by their own policy and social contexts.
What advice would you give to students studying Sociology at QMU?
I would encourage students to focus on sociology as a way of understanding how people experience the world differently, rather than only as theory. It becomes most powerful when connected to lived experience and real-world contexts.
What’s your top tip for making the most of university?
Progression is not always linear. Growth often happens before confidence fully develops, so it is important to take opportunities even when you do not feel fully ready.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned at university?
That individual experience is always shaped within a wider context, and that understanding this relationship is central to how society functions. QMU helped me develop the ability to interpret experience within a broader social framework, particularly how opportunity, access, and circumstance shape people’s engagement with education and wider society.
How has your degree influenced your career?
My degree has fundamentally shaped how I approach public service.
It developed a way of thinking that focuses on how people engage with and move through public institutions in practice - how they navigate, interpret, and experience them differently depending on their circumstances.
This is directly relevant to my role, particularly in understanding how policy is experienced on the ground, how organisations operate across different contexts, and how decisions are interpreted by different stakeholders.
The QMU Careers Service supported my first Civil Service application, and Smart Works Scotland supported me with interview preparation and confidence-building.
Reflections.
Looking back, my time at Queen Margaret University was not only about academic achievement, but about developing a way of seeing and interpreting the world differently. It gave me a framework for understanding how everyday life is shaped by context, interaction, and experience - and how meaning is formed in the space between people and the institutions around them.
That perspective continues to shape how I approach leadership, policy, and public service today.
