Ailish studied BA English at the University of Sussex and began working in education as a Learning Support Assistant after her graduation. She then qualified as an English Teacher through the Teach First programme and had three years teaching in the classroom. Full of wanderlust, Ailish has travelled numerous countries around the world and left teaching to travel south Asia on a yearlong trip in 2019, volunteering as a trekking guide in the Himalayan mountains for part of it, before returning to join Team Up in January 2020.