Meet Geography Alumni Dipalee

Why did you choose Esher Sixth Form College?

At the time when I went to college, which was a long time ago now, Esher had a lovely, relaxed and welcoming feel about it.

I loved the open space and fields around the buildings, the college was smaller in size than Richmond and Kingston, which I preferred, and a lot of my friends were going to Esher.

What were your course highlights at Esher?

Geography had always been my favourite subject since I was about 11 years old. I loved learning about the earth – volcanoes, earthquakes, rivers, etc.

I loved the geography field trip we did to the South of France at college. I also really enjoyed the practical lab sessions in Chemistry and learning about organic chemistry.

How did your teachers inspire you?

They believed in their subject matter passionately and what they were teaching us. They believed in me, my ability and that I could do well. That belief helped drive me, to work hard, believe in myself, unlock my potential, and eventually succeed.

What was your career path after Esher?

I never had a clear career path and didn’t know what job I wanted to do at 16 or 18, so I ended up following my passion of geography. I loved physical geography, which led me to discover geology.

So, I decided to study Geology with Physical Geography at the University of Southampton.

What are you doing now?

I am Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Ground & Water, a geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering company in the UK. The company will be celebrating 15 years in September 2024.

I started the company with my university friend, Francis Williams, who was on my undergraduate Geology course with me.

Outside of being an engineer, CEO and business leader, I co-host the Chai & Chat Engineering podcast, I am a school governor, speaker, gender equality advocate, I was a UN Women UK Delegate at the CSW68 this year and mum to three children.

What have been your career highlights so far?

Apart from having the guts to start the business in 2009 and build a successful seven figure company whilst simultaneously having three children, I courageously went back to studying last year and put myself through a mini-MBA style course for business leaders at Oxford University. I completed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Programme and graduated at Oxford in January 2024, which was incredible.

Another big career highlight was being on the winning inclusion list of Inspirational Business Women in STEM & Construction 2023, presented at the House of Lords by Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe. A ‘pinch me’ moment for sure!

And finally, winning the Everywoman Award for the Entrepreneur for Good in December 2023 was a very humbling and proud moment for me.

What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?

I would tell her not to worry about being shy and introverted. I would tell her to believe in herself more, to re-write the narrative in her head and get out of her own way.

I’d also tell her that confidence is a skill you can learn, you just need to flex it like a muscle, keep practicing and it will get stronger.

Be your unique self and don’t think you have to become loud to be heard or to lead.

What is your favourite chocolate bar and why?

Ooh this is tricky! Maybe a TimeOut. I love the combination of milk chocolate and a thin wafer biscuit.