I'm a Careers Coach for Future Frontiers!

I am a person that wants to help. I try my best everyday to do kind things and think kind thoughts. I believe that when living an honest and open lifestyle, the universe will always return you with positivity and good fortune. 

I had wanted to find a volunteering programme that specifically helped children in disadvantaged areas. I feel that every single child deserves a chance at having a decent future and lack of economic, material and cultural capital should not be the causation of a child not fulfilling their potential. We are born into a world that allows those with money to have a certain type of privilege that almost guarantees them a stable future yet so so many intelligent and bright children don't have the financial stability and therefore find themselves working three times as hard in order to hit the same goals.

I attended the volunteering fair at my University and found myself chatting to many great causes. One that stood out to me was the Future Frontiers stall. The founder of the charity was there and grabbing people as they walked past to have a chat. He explained all about the programme and asked me questions about what I was hoping to get out of my volunteering experience. I put my details down for more information and within a week I was having a follow up call and then phone interview to become a coach.

Yesterday morning I had my first of 10 sessions with my chosen school, Lilian Baylis Technology School in Kennington, London. I was advised that the school has 80% of their pupils on free school meals and it stands as one of the most disadvantaged schools in London. After a hectic morning of waiting in supermarkets whilst attempting to buy a sandwich (practically 3 times) I made it in and met my 4 pupils that I would be coaching on their prospect career paths. 

They were all very lovely and eager to be involved as since they were in Year11 they felt they needed to think about their prospects once they finish school. It can often seem daunting but taking the initiative to do some research and follow your interests makes life that much easier in the long run.

My role as a Careers Coach is to guide the pupils through conversations about their interests and possible career prospects. It sounds simple but is actually much trickier than perceived, considering I still don't 100% know what direction I'm heading in career wise. As it was the first session it was rather light and we had to talk about how thy perceived themselves as human beings, whether it was caring, cautious, aggressive or motivated. By allowing the pupils time to talk about how they saw themselves we were then able to facilitate a conversation that then lead them to consciously thinking about the type of careers that would suit them for their best qualities. 

As the weeks go on we set targets and create pathways to slowly enable the pupils to work towards these sometimes seemingly impossible career goals. We help them make connections within their desired industry by setting up Skype calls with a professional currently working in their desired sector and allow the pupils to be left then to their own devises, hopefully feeling inspired and full of confidence that they can achieve high if they really push themselves.

I really enjoyed the session yesterday and none of the children were naughty or bad as teachers often enjoy calling them. It was a relaxed atmosphere and I am looking forward to the journey ahead.

If you are interested in becoming a careers coach visit: https://www.futurefrontiers.org.uk/coaches to find out more.

Peace&Love,
Willow