About me
I was born on the 20th of September 1980 in Ysbyty Dewi Sant Bangor. I'm an only child, and lucky to have two extremely supportive and loving parents - Angharad Anwyl who is a Montgomeryshire girl and Vaughan Hughes, who's an Anglesey boy. I had a very happy childhood, and spent a lot of my school holidays on farms even helping to show sheep in various agricultural shows!
I attended Ysgol Gynradd Talwrn, and then Ysgol David Hughes in Menai Bridge. My favourite subjects at school were Welsh, English, History, Music and Drama. My ambition - much to the despair of my Careers teacher - was to become the first female Prime Minister of an independent Wales: an ambition that doesn't seem as far fetched since the establishment of the Welsh Assembly!
My hobbies when growing up were public speaking, acting (I was a member of Ysgol Glanaethwy drama school), writing and also playing the piano, clarinet and harp.
I then went on to study History and Political Science at Trinity College Dublin. My four years there as an undergraduate were the best years of my life, and undoubtedly helped shape and mature my politics considerably. I was Editor of the political magazine Miscellany, Chair of the radio station - Trinity FM and also heavily involved in the Students Union. As a result, I was elected as a Sabbatical Officer in the Union holding the position of Education Officer in 2003-2004. I was then elected the National Education Officer of the Union of Students in Ireland in 2004-2005. It was these two years that truly fueled my passion for education policy and equality of access to education. I sat on a number of government committees relating to education, even becoming one of Ireland's Bologna promoters, representing Ireland at a number of European Higher Education conferences.
I then returned to Wales in 2005 and completed an MA in Medieval History at Bangor University. I also presented a television series called Waterworld before going on to work in Westminster for Plaid Cymru, first as a researcher and then as the group's Press and Political Officer. I absolutely loved the job, and learnt a lot from the MP's. Elfyn Llwyd was particularly influential, and I was amazed by his dedication and passion for the job. He was the one who encouraged me to run for Montgomeryshire in the 2010 General Election, and for that I'm extremely grateful. It was a fantastic experience to run against Lembit Opik and Glyn Davies, and I was delighted that we had our best ever General Election result in the constituency in what was a difficult election overall for Plaid.
When I do take time off I love catching up with friends, reading historical books or magazines, going to the gym, writing and blogging. I'm also a leading member of Plaid Cymru's research group with particular responsibility for education. I would love to be an Assembly Member, focusing in particular on rural affairs, education policy and heritage and culture. Politics is my passion in life, and I can think of nothing I'd rather do than represent an area I love - North Wales - and playing a leading role in building a stronger and independent Wales in the future.
