My LiA was transformational. And I’m not exaggerating as much as language like that often suggests. I’d never stepped foot in an office environment before, and neither had my parents so everything was new. I learned the intricacies of how charities and specifically my foundation operated, how their impact manifested in our members academic and professional careers. 

I really struggled to anticipate the atmosphere and culture of where I would spend the next 6 weeks but by the end of my first week, I was already starting to notice the value and recognition of my voice within the team. And whilst I initially felt I was being given busy body work, as I progressed through the data analysis, I began to understand its utility and was given a more diverse range of work with greater responsibility. Ultimately, I saw how seemingly abstract tasks were really behind the scenes logistics for operation and improvement. 

What actually was my work? 

The goal of my work at the 93% Club was to gather and analyse data on their impact on the graduate outcomes of their students. Comparing them with the wider population to see a correlation between greater career and education outcomes with membership and engagement with the charity. But my experience went far beyond this. I worked to analyse and present data gathered in research on the experience of workers from state school backgrounds in their key partner sectors like law and finance. Simultaneously, I helped in operations and planning for their programme ran alongside the home office whilst laying groundwork for their Social Mobility Factory. Furthermore, I was repeatedly given opportunities to attend events with the CEO, contribute to high level meetings or do site visits for future event venues. 

Two occasions really stood out to me and were not on the cards I’d laid out in my head prior to working in the team. During my second week I was invited to join the CEO and Head of Partnerships to meet senior head office staff from JD Sports. Certainly not something I’d anticipated for my LiA. Later on, I had the opportunity to join the CEO at the ITN HQ where I toured the Channel 4 News studios and met news readers I’d watched since childhood. I was certainly star struck.

I was so happy! 

The variety of experience during my LiA quickly grew to better my perspective on the diversity of work available and how networks and collaboration enable progress for small charities such as the 93% Club. Meanwhile the regimental progress in my tasks of impact tracking brought me to understand the value of my own work for the organisation. And finally, through the exposure to new environments, people, workplaces I was given, from JD Sports to the Home Office, I grew my communication and presentation skills in ways unavailable to me in academics. 

My impact and my Struggles: 

In hindsight, my impact was far greater than I had realised at the time. My voice and perspectives were respected from day one, I planned out the entire timeline for their Elevate programme, I was allowed to speak up in meetings and contribute through my experience as a student in one of their societies. During the meeting with JD, this had proved to be far more important than I expected.  

There were struggles too. I learned that my style of work was not well adapted for hybrid working, ideally, I need to be in an office. I realised there was a lot of progress to make in allowing myself to push my perspective forward and to doubt myself less. Whilst the variety of work I was given was incredibly valuable in growing my repertoire of ability and knowledge, for me to stick to schedules and deadlines, I need dogmatic planning and routine rather than remote workdays and distraction. 

Sadness before my final farewell and feedback meeting.

If you'd like to check out the organisation that helped me feel welcome at University and welcomed me in their HQ, they're available here. Maybe check them out on your campus too if you're in the UK.