Congratulations Will Jubb!

We caught up with our Club Wilber Ambassador, and York City Knights player, Will Jubb, on his recent graduation from the University of Hull for his PHD!

Congratulations on your recent graduation and receiving your Doctorate of Philosophy in Fisheries Studies. How long was your course? 

Thank you very much, it took me 4 and a half years to complete my phd.

In easy language, what was the course about?  

So I was looking at a conservation fish species called river lamprey. They are protected in the river Humber so I was looking at whether a historic fishery for them was sustainable, I.e., they can catch them to sell and still leave a lot of the population in the river to continue their lifecycle, and the impacts of all the weirs and barriers throughout the Humber catchment on their spawning migration.

What was your favourite part of the course/ best day? 

I really enjoyed every part of my studies but the fieldwork was always really fun. On one day the fisherman caught over 1 tonne of lamprey and we had to process all of them! It was like lamprey Armageddon there was that many of them, they were absolutely everywhere but they are really tough and we managed to sort through them all and re-release them into the river after putting little tags in them and moving them upstream of the weirs.

Being a student with a visual impairment, did you have any challenges in your education? Can you share an example and explain how you overcame them?

I was brought up to never let my eye hold me back from anything and this was the same here during my phd. I have always treated myself the same as everyone else and I hope that everyone else does the same with me as well. I would obviously just make sure I was extra careful when doing fieldwork or working around dangerous machines on the river banks by wearing protective glasses etc but I have always been able to overcome any challenges throughout my life which I definitely believe is down to my upbringing.

If any of our club Wilber members are currently struggling at school/ college, or dislike going,  what would your advice be?  

I would say that all the hard work that you put in now at school, college or wherever you are is 100% worth it. No one can ever take that piece of paper with your grades on away from you and putting in the effort now sets you up for your future successes. It allows you to enjoy whatever you want to do in life if you work hard now and believe me, it is the best feeling in the world. I wish all the club Wilber children and families all the best with their education and hope that you are able to take enjoyment from the hard work that you put in now which will reap rewards in the years to come.

Thank you for chatting to us Will!