Rebecca chivers | lend a hand
''During my 1st year (2016), I knew I wanted to get involved with a project, but none of the current projects really spoke to me. So, I reached out to VTeam asking if there were any projects that involved education and focused on supporting disadvantaged people. We visited the First Stop Centre and the people were so friendly! I spent that first year as the only volunteer and Session Leader, delivering lesson plans and taking the bus to Braintree every Sunday. In my second year, I became Project Leader and recruited some volunteers, a social media person and a Session Leader to support me.
The project connected me to people I would never have met otherwise, and taught me just how little I knew about teaching and education! Especially teaching people who had significant learning problems. It inspired me to get further into education, and my passion now lies in teaching neurodiverse students. The project helped me secure my Masters in Pedagogical Sciences, and my job now as a researcher in education! I also won a couple of awards for volunteering with Lend a Hand, and it felt really special getting recognition for something you simply enjoy.
I absolutely recommend volunteering in your first and second year, it may feel like there’s not enough time but it adds depth to the Uni experience. My recommendation is to volunteer with a project that speaks to you. It doesn’t have to be in the same field as your study, but it is a great way to test the waters of what you may be interested to pursue as a career or otherwise. It also is a great thing to add to a CV, it shows future employers you’re passionate and take initiative.''
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