Molly Nolan has already made her way from the Highlands to Harvard and then home again, and now she has high hopes of heading to Holyrood.
But the 23-year-old admitted that her path into politics, via one of the most prestigious higher education institutions in the world, had been unplanned.
“I never really thought of this as a career, it was more a case of, obviously this has been a very tumultuous political time for the past few years, and I’ve just felt myself get drawn in more and more, and really want to speak up in that way,” she said.
“So, when the opportunity arose to stand in my home seat, that was too good to miss.
“I wanted to go back to Scotland, I wanted to be involved with the Liberal Democrats. It was kind of just a no-brainer.”
While her decision to stand in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross at the Scottish Parliament elections next year might not have required too much thought, few people find their way to Harvard University without the benefit of brainpower.
Atlantic crossing
And it would be no slight on the academic talents of people from Evanton, or Easter Ross generally, to assume they were probably not over-represented on the campuses of America’s Ivy League universities before Ms Nolan crossed the Atlantic.
“It was quite unexpected,” she said, in an understated way, of her studies at Harvard.
Ms Nolan, who graduated in May last year, was unsure about the path she wanted to take when she went to the US, but ended up with a focus closer to home.
“I went there not knowing quite what I would do. I had a lot of different interests,” she said.
“But the system there means that you can do the first year in general subjects and make up your mind.
“So while I was there I got very into history and ended up at the end of it all having a degree in British imperial history, specifically in Africa and Australia.
“I spent six months in Melbourne as well, at university there.”
Musical youth
Ms Nolan had been used to travelling to further her studies, having made the shorter trip from Easter Ross to Wester Ross while at school.
Having grown up in Evanton and initially attending Dingwall Academy, she was accepted to the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music at Plockton in her fifth and sixth year.
It was there that she honed her talents as a pianist, fiddle player and singer, having been the first member of her family to play traditional music.
Charles Kennedy was my MP for a while, and then when the boundaries changed he was next door’s MP, but he was very, very formative for me.”
Ms Nolan was also one of the first members of her family to become politically active, although her grandfather was a Liberal council candidate in 1963 in Greater London.
“It does go back a bit, but I’m the first person to actually really get involved and be a member of a party,” she said.
“I joined the party in 2017 but I’d been voting Liberal Democrat ever since I could. Obviously there are really strong Liberal traditions in the Highlands.
“Charles Kennedy was my MP for a while, and then when the boundaries changed he was next door’s MP, but he was very, very formative for me.
“There was, again, never really any question in my mind that I was in favour of liberal values, so when I joined in 2017 I just started to get more involved.
“I did campaigning in the Highlands and in London as well, at various elections.”
After graduating from Harvard, Ms Nolan started an internship in London and did some freelance communications work, but her Highland homeland was calling.
“There was never really a plan, but I think it’s just such a special place; there was never really any doubt in my mind that I would come back, certainly to the UK, and then when I came back to the UK I thought, ‘you know what’, I think I’ll go back up to the Highlands for a while,” she said.
Home in the Highlands
Since returning, Ms Nolan has bought a “ramshackle” house in Evanton, which she is working on, and has begun campaigning as the Lib Dem candidate in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross for next year’s Holyrood election.
It is a top target for the party, with local MP Jamie Stone having represented the area at Holyrood in the first three parliaments, before it was won by the SNP’s Rob Gibson in 2011 and then in 2016 by Gail Ross, who is now standing down.
Mr Stone said: “I am so impressed with Molly’s passion for the Highlands and her grasp of the issues that matter most to local people.
“She is a shining example of the next generation of Highlanders – just as much at home performing at Fèisean as she is dealing with major businesses and institutions across the world.”
Holyrood needs ‘next generation’
Ms Nolan said that recent events had underlined the need for the “next generation” to take their place at Holyrood.
“You can see from the issue with the SQA results, I think that could have been avoided if we’d had a more diverse group of people feeding into that decision-making,” she said.
“I’ve been in school under Curriculum for Excellence and I’ve seen how it works as a pupil, and I think that is something we’re really lacking in Scottish politics as it is.
“But just in general, it’s important to have that kind of diversity, not just in age, but we also need more women, we need more people of colour, people with disabilities.
“All of that diversity will strengthen our politics a lot.”