Setting the Scene
Hi to anyone reading this! My name is Alysha. At the time of writing this blog I will have been onboard GIFT as an IT Administrator for just shy of 3 months. But the foundation of my relationship with GIFT and the owners of GIFT stretches back over 14 years when I was still in primary school. Starting the story off right it’s good to cast our minds back to when GIFT was housed at the Windrush Millennium Centre on Alexandra Road. That is where my journey with GIFT begins as an attendee of the supplementary school they ran. I continued attending GIFT from primary age up until the end of secondary school where I achieved 10 GCSEs at grade A* – C thanks in part to the help of the tutoring I received at GIFT.
Support however didn’t stop there and outside of my academic career they also offered a lot of pastoral care and professional support which continued once I’d finished attending the supplementary school. I’ve since gone on to attend college achieving 3 A Level and BTEC qualifications and I’ve also graduated from university with a first class honours degree in IT and Business Management. This is not to gloat or boast but simply emphasise how my positive experience at GIFT spurred on my belief in my talents.
The Impact of GIFT’s Support.
My earliest experience of receiving career support from GIFT involved them giving me the opportunity to take on work experience at their offices while I was still in high school to gain professional skills for the workplace. This was one of the first instances of extra support GIFT gave me and it was a really good taster of what I could potentially be doing if I stuck with charitable organisations like GIFT. After the work experience was complete and I’d finished high school after achieving my GCSEs. They were still very much a part of my life providing guidance and support through checking in with me and at different points in the rest of my academic and personal life.
They supported me through college and university by physically being present at different celebratory events like my university graduation, they visited me and my grandmother during the holidays, we’ve had talks where Henry and Jackie separately gave great advice on different areas of my early adult life like my career, the importance of having attainable goals, financial literacy and seeking continual education in all aspects of life. They were very holistic in their approach to mentoring and I’d say my career journey and my wider journey as a young adult so far has been shaped a lot by the ongoing consistency provided by both Henry and Jackie. They provided me my first ever chance to do work experience, they continually gave professional advice based on their own personal experiences, they provided references and application support for my job post graduation and now given me the opportunity to work with them again and take on a paid placement right now at their offices again where I have the chance to shadow what they do and gain even more hands on experience at working in a charity based environment.
What started off as weekly tutoring for my education has grown into so much more. Shaping not just my academic grades but areas of my own personal growth too. GIFT helped me when I was merely just a stranger and they continue to help so many other young people realise their potential. One conversation and opportunity at a time.
