In this guest blog, UCL student Selai Saydzai tells us about her experience of becoming a senior Green Impact project assistants - and why other students should do it too!
Opportunity is truly the needle in the haystack. As a first-year student - with no real experience in fields other than retail - it all seemed impossible. However, this didn't stop me. Throughout my education I have never allowed uncertainty to impede me.
After hearing about the UCL Job Shop I soon found myself looking through a project managing job description that had been posted by NUS. I was shocked to see that a prestigious national student organisation were looking for students to run their new Green Impact project, as senior Green Impact project assistants, to promote sustainability in hospitals. It was fantastic that an organisation like NUS was willing to provide students with the opportunity to gain valuable life experiences.
Projects such as this have allowed for students like myself to become immersed in university life and the real world. Aside from building confidence and communication skills, it has provided a great platform for networking with a diverse set of people; all of whom are vastly successful and always willing to provide help and guidance.
Opportunities like this are allowing young people to express themselves through creative outlets, and are providing a means for skill application in the real world. Furthermore, it gives students inestimable experience that can be put on their CV for future jobs in related fields.
Project managing was the highlight of my first year, as it gave me something to work towards and be proud of. I'm very pleased to be continuing on with the project for another year. I can't wait for the new challenges it presents and the countless creative solutions that me and my team will conjure up.
To all students, whichever year you may be in, I would say: apply yourself, believe in yourself and take heed of the opportunities that are available. If you don't look, you don't find. Don't expect for opportunities to headhunt you; instead you need to actively search for them. You never know, it may just be your calling.