Life After KEEN - Vicky
Breaking into the education sector, Vicky, our former V.M.O. reflects on her KEEN experience.
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Hello all! My name is Vicky and for two years I volunteered with KEEN York, serving as the Volunteer and Media Officer in my final year.
My experiences with KEEN remain some of my most treasured memories from my time at the University of York, and it’s not hard to see why. KEEN York provided some light-hearted relief at the end of my week which was just what I needed when the work was piling up, and the stress was mounting.
Just like the kids, KEEN provides its volunteers with a fun and friendly place to mess around, laugh and smile.
Not just that, but when I was living away from home, KEEN gave me a sense of community as I became a part of a fantastic group of people (big, and of course, small). From the children, to the other volunteers, to the parents who would come along, every person would be up for a chit-chat and ready to muck-in.
Then there are the games – oh, how I miss the games! Dancing, running, rolling, jumping – anything a person could wish for. Personally, I’d recommend Sharks and Lifeguards and Crocodile-Crocodile to any man and his dog, they would never fail get me laughing and get my competitive side going.
Then there are the games – oh, how I miss the games! Dancing, running, rolling, jumping – anything a person could wish for. Personally, I’d recommend Sharks and Lifeguards and Crocodile-Crocodile to any man and his dog, they would never fail get me laughing and get my competitive side going.
In my final year of University, I became the Volunteer and Media Officer at KEEN York. Whilst a bit of a mouthful to say, being VMO was the perfect way to get me more involved in a group that I loved, and develop some key skills at the same time.
For the first time in my life, I completely redesigned a website, I oversaw a public-group’s online community and all its publicity, and I created, advertised and ran events.
Having the opportunity to engage in these roles increased my confidence, built up my organisational skills to cover larger projects and gave me the platform to think creatively. These have all served me well in my life as a graduate.
After graduating with a degree in Psychology from University of York in the Summer of 2017, I gained a place on the Primary Education PGCE course at Durham University (ranked #1 in the UK, according to TheCompleteUniversityGuide).
It is my honest belief that my time at KEEN York has been integral to my approach to teaching so far. I have found myself comfortable interacting with a range of children in schools because I became used to adapting my approach and communicational style when working with the wide variety of brilliant children who attend KEEN’s Sunday and Thursday sessions.
Additionally, I like to think that I have been reactive to the needs of the children, and the requirements of the classroom, on my first placement, because KEEN requires you to react to each activity that the children choose to ensure that it is accessible for every person in the room.
Not only this, but it was KEEN itself which fuelled my passion for working with children to the point where I chose to begin my journey into this career (applying to University’s across the UK about a year ago today). For this I am truly grateful because, so far, I am loving every part of teaching!
My Advice?
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So, my one bit of advice for a student at the University of York now, or a child who has a Sunday free and a love of fun and games? Join KEEN York, it might just be the making of you.