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STAR STUDENT DESCRIBES WORK EXPERIENCE IN THE UK

03-05-2018

DISCIPLINE, PLANNING AND SOCIAL SKILLS

 

As well as Guardianship and Homestay services Study Links also arranges work experience for our students.  Work experience is a great way for visiting students to gain valuable additions to their CV and also fully integrate into local culture and society.  Don’t take our word for it though!  Instead, read a first-hand experience from Star Student – Maya Chukujama aged 17 from Nigeria studying at Durham School.

Maya worked for the British Red Cross and wrote a guest article to share with our readers.

Below is her experience working for the charity and why she felt work experience was a valuable addition to her stay in the UK:

“During the Easter break, I volunteered at a British Red Cross charity shop in Walmgate, York for a week.  I was very excited about this opportunity so on the morning, I was up as early as possible ready to go! Upon my arrival, I was quite surprised. I was surprised because whenever I heard ‘charity shop’, I saw it as a place people came to dump their plain-looking, unattractive items in the name of a ‘donation’, however, I was absolutely wrong. Firstly, I was warmly received by a paid member of staff who had previously volunteered for nine years and I noticed there were beautiful items put out for sale.

In terms of learning, I did a lot of it and the first was punctuality, leading to discipline and planning ahead. The night before, I would ensure I planned out the following day and I would wake up two hours before work to leave in time for contingencies, say, the bus arrives late or I decided not to rush my breakfast. The next was communication. I met totally new, different people every day, including volunteers like myself whom I had to strike up a conversation with about my background or with a customer, about where things were; if an item looked good; or just a random conversation whilst they paid at the till. This has definitely made me more knowledgeable and more sociable which is always useful.

Another thing was determination and I learned this from the manager. She had the gait of someone who knew her destination, was very active and creative, in order to attract more customers.

Overall, the atmosphere was extremely hospitable, sometimes the elderly would come in just to have chat and it’s little things like listening to someone or having a laugh with them, knowing that you’re making their day better that makes voluntary work extra rewarding!”   

– Maya Chukujama

Thank you for the interesting article Maya, we are sure you will inspire other students to do more great work across the country.

Contact us at hello@studylinks.com to organise work placements and industry visits for you or your students.