Elen Roberts

Student Led Volunteering Project Leader 2016 - 17

I really enjoyed volunteering, it gave me the chance to try new things, and helped me to work out what I wanted to do when I left uni. Its a great experience and everyone should try it, you meet great people, and with uni sometimes being quite lonely, and some courses only having a few teaching hours a week, its great to fill your time with something productive.

It has definitely shaped my career, helping me focus in on what I really wanted to do, and also really helped to bulk out my CV as I had no other work experience. I have spoken at length about stuff I did at uni at all interviews I have had, and it helped to get me a temp job with Keep Britain Tidy. I now work for a local council as a Waste and Recycling Officer, doing social media, going into schools, and having an active role in the community and I absolutely love it. I was told that a part of the reason I got the job, was because of the work I did with Keep Britain Tidy and the volunteering at uni - they said it showed a true interest and passion to do these jobs with little or no pay. I have kept in contact with another student I volunteered with, and helped her make connections with Keep Britain Tidy after I worked there, so it’s all about the connections you make too.