I first discovered The Door when I was in year 12 at Stroud High and Marling Sixth Form. One of the mentors was working with my friends and we had engaged in conversation about a peer mentoring scheme that I had set up at Stroud High. When I was looking for work experience, this mentor suggested to me that I applied for volunteer work at The Door, as she was aware of my interest in psychology and my ambitions to work with young people.
I started volunteering in the Drop-in with Annie and James once a fortnight in March 2015, and I became very excited by the opportunities that arose. I was starting to spend more and more time volunteering after school and during my free periods, and was fascinated by the interactions of young people and the things that I was learning.
In the summer of 2015 I volunteered on a trip to take a group of young people boxing in Gloucester, and it was on that trip after speaking with Annie a great deal, that I affirmed in my mind a new passion for youthwork, and it was clear to me that this is what I wanted to do.
After taking a short break from The Door to go travelling to Africa, I returned eager to progress. I started doing detached work in the Stroud area, and learned to identify patterns in behaviour of young people and the factors that influence them.
More recently, I applied to the University of Gloucestershire to do a degree in Youthwork, and am hoping to find more work with young people to broaden my experience.
I am extremely grateful to everyone at The Door for the opportunities they have provided me with and for allowing me to develop my passion in such a way that I now want to pursue youthwork as a career.