Students’ work experience testimonials

During my research assistant role, I had the opportunity to take part in two projects. Firstly, I created an online resource which provides a wealth of information about Autism spectrum disorder. Secondly, I was involved with the coding and analysis of an ongoing research project. Throughout the role, I enjoyed getting to meet new people and enjoyed being involved with current research projects. Both projects allowed me to extend and apply my existing knowledge and has inspired me to consider applying for a full-time research assistant post for the upcoming year.

For my second-year work placement, I volunteered with York Mind undertaking three different roles. In June 2019, I started as a Group Activity Assistant for their 16-21 Support Group which involved taking part in group activities supporting the young people, discussing mental health in general and how it was personally affecting those attending the group, carrying out various mental health and non-mental health related, such as playing card games (Uno was a particular favourite of the group, although it could get rather competitive… mainly me!). As a group, we would also go for trips to various places with personal highlights being an escape room and a cat café. We would also have monthly speakers come in to talk about various aspects that could influence mental health. A rather interesting speech was from a York St John Psychology lecturer who talked about bullying. This was a fantastic way for the young people to participate in discussions which helped to enhance their own confidence and social skills. As my rapport grew stronger with the mentees, I was also assigned the role of a 1:1 Mentor wherein I would have a session with another mentee and we would set agreed goals about what they wished to achieve through the sessions and both engage in conversation about their mental health, as well as go through activities that enabled them to further explore issues. Although I had completed the 75 hours at the beginning of March, I enjoyed volunteering with them so much that during the lockdown I continued to perform as a mentor via phone. Volunteering with York Mind was a great experience, as it both gave me transferable skills that I currently use in my new job as a support worker with United Response, taught me valuable lessons in how to deal with certain situations that I had never been exposed to in previous voluntary roles and brought me a gratifying sense of achievement. My colleagues at York Mind were remarkable people, both professionally and personally, and seeing the positive transformation of the young people is something that will always stay with me. Whilst some days there were challenges that arose, this only added to the variability and the end goal of seeing a young person go home with a smile on their face that they didn’t have when they came into the building was the ultimate reward. Even if I entered with a frown from having a bad time, it was always guaranteed I would also be the one to walk away with a smile. I cannot recommend, nor thank, York Mind enough for the enriching experience I had with them. If you wish to undergo a mentor role for a placement, I can promise you that you will finish with an abundance of knowledge and fantastic memories from colleagues and mentees alike. I, for one, will always look back fondly on my work placement!

My work experience was completed working as a classroom assistant. During my work experience I completed a range of different tasks such as leading a guided reading session, supervising children whilst on a learning break and assisting children who needed help during literacy and maths. By completing my work experience, I was able to develop my leadership and confidence skills through leading small group sessions.  I enjoyed my work experience as I was able to consolidate what I had learnt from specific modules on my degree and then apply this in a real-life setting.