During my first two years at the University I was part of the VTeam and an active member of the Art Club Project. I also had an absolute blast with many one-off projects, from planting flowers to painting people’s faces and playing a scary wolf at the Colchester Zoo on Halloween.

As a regular volunteer, I formed bonds and made friends; as a session leader, I became more confident and better at problem-solving; and as a project leader, I grew as person and honed my communication and organization skills. I had to manage the transition from in-person sessions to online and re-think what Art Club was as a project when we weren’t directly working with children.

The skills and experience I gained helped me in my search for both summer jobs and internships, having been offered positions as a summer camp teacher in Italy and as an intern in the Pakistani Embassy in Portugal.

If you find yourself on this page wondering if you should volunteer, take my advice and do!