#10YearsOfPLUS: Your UG Education Officer shares her Award experience.

More than 5000 students past and present have achieved the PLUS Award in the last decade. One of which is your currently elected UG Education Officer Hillary Gyebi-Ababio who used work experience as a Telethon Fundraiser and a society committee position, among other things, to gain the Award alongside her Social Policy degree. This is what she says about her experience.

“Taking part in the Bristol PLUS Award made me a stronger candidate for my career. I honed my skills in organisation, communication and most importantly for myself, leadership. It enabled me to feel confident in realising my potential in the future career I hope to have.

Attending the workshops and career events helped me to identify the qualities that came naturally to me which assured me that a career in the public or third sector is where I would thrive and really enjoy my work. The various skills I learnt allowed me to secure an interview with a top organisation in the third sector, especially through bringing my CV up to a professional standard. Being able to show off my skills, and personality in an interview setting was something I had always struggled with, but the Careers Service events gave me the tools to improve this. The interview skills workshop enabled me to pinpoint what parts of my personality and character I should highlight at an interview and what aspects I should build on. The reflective report allowed me to identify the key parts of the PLUS Award that I felt were most beneficial to me and in turn evaluate how much I felt I had gained from undertaking such a valuable scheme.

Being able to take initiative and be confident in myself, my work and my ideas are very important to me and I feel that I have really thrived in achieving this goal through Bristol PLUS. The Award allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and work on myself on all fronts; academically, personally and mentally. It was an invaluable experience which I would highly recommend!”

The registration deadline for this year is Friday 14 February so it is not too late to take part and get rewarded in 2020! Visit the webpage to book an introductory talk and find out more.