Youth and Community Work student wins Tinker Fisher Scholarship
Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:31:00 BST
Leah Black, currently studying part-time on the MA Professional Studies (Youth and Community Work) has been awarded a scholarship to travel to Uganda at the end of July to complete an unusual placement.
Currently a first year student (she will be joining the second year in September 2014), she works for Groundwork as a Capacity Build Coordinator (Youth & Volunteering), leading on a Youth Mentoring project for 11 to 17 year olds at risk of underachieving at school. She also leads the volunteer programme within the organisation and helps to provide advice and guidance to young people on their range of programmes. Finally, she is a Board Director for the Yorkshire Mentoring Forum.
The scholarship has been awarded for a five week study trip to Uganda, which will form part of the mandatory 180 hour placement for her course. She decided to travel to this placement to help meet her future career aspirations and enhance her existing role.
She explained that her passion lies in youth mentoring and inter-cultural youth exchanges overseas, so she chose to do the placement at the Institute of Advanced Leadership Uganda (IAL-U), where she will be working as part of their mentoring team.
She’ll be designing and delivering her own project, and helping to recruit and train mentors and mentees for a ‘holiday youth mentoring programme’, undertake community outreach programmes, provide career guidance talks to young people and help to build their confidence and self-esteem.
She may also deliver talks to inspire partner organisations, conduct one-to-one youth mentoring and coaching sessions and help to deliver a cultural event.
IAL-U is an educational and training institute whose mission is “to empower leaders to positively change society”. Leah hopes that her support can continue when she returns to the UK, such as report writing and evaluations.
She worked in 2011 in Ecuador with street children, and it was this that made her realise her heart was in youth mentoring, youth work and international volunteering. The experience had such a major impact that she decided to take the University of Huddersfield Masters course alongside two Level 4 Diplomas in Information, Advice and Guidance and Achievement Coaching. This was despite her, before this, having no official training or qualifications in youth work or mentoring.
‘My aspirations in youth and community work lie in developing policy, inspiring and training others to become excellent youth and community workers and delivering quality youth mentoring projects. I am also keen to see more opportunities in inter-cultural exchanges abroad for young people, and will continue to develop this element into my practice’.
By travelling to a less developed country she hopes to inspire others to think further afield as well as to raise awareness of global issues.
As Leah concludes, ‘ I am exceptionally grateful to receive this award and can’t wait to undertake my placement at the Institute of Advanced Leadership Uganda. This experience will be second to none in supporting my studies, employment and for inspiring others.’
