It all started when I was given the opportunity to cover another staff member’s maternity leave on a short term contract to work in an Endocrine clinical trials department. I had been working in a diabetes management role, I had experience in this field but I was new to research. I was trained up in the role and on clinical research very quickly. I had a great mentor who taught me everything I needed to know about being a clinical research coordinator, about working in clinical research and I loved it. I enjoyed sharing the experience with the patients who were volunteering their time to contribute to research. I enjoyed the variety of the role, working on different trials and being a part of the bigger picture. I knew that I had found my passion and I wanted to learn and do more. Needless to say my short term contract didn’t end and I continued to work for a number of years as a clinical trial coordinator. I soon knew that I my goal was to be a CRA and I knew I wanted to achieve CRA certification through ACRP. This was so important to me, it was about achieving a personal goal and setting a professional standard for myself. It has been one of my proudest achievements and I am honoured to be one of the many who have achieved certification though ACRP. To be part of the wider ACRP community has been very rewarding to me. To know that ACRP certification recognises my experience and knowledge and that I am part of a very elite group of people who are dedicated to research, who are passionate about setting a high professional standard and who love what we do. Working as a CRA in Australia and achieving certification through ACRP has shown the importance of recognising a global team of people who work in clinical trials and uniting the clinical research community.