As a Student Ambassador my role is to work the University open days for the History department and to be available for new and current students to ask questions or for advice about the course and university life in general. In this position my communication skills and confidence especially have greatly improved. The work varies, on different open days I have been responsible for signing prospective students in on arrival and taking them to their appropriate information talks, being on the History stall in the course fair to talk to prospective students about what I enjoy, and sometimes dislike, about History at Huddersfield. More recently I worked at a History student specific open day, where I wandered the room and spoke to the applicants, answering any questions they had about the course, University life, accommodation and life in Huddersfield itself. I really enjoy this experience as it lets me talk to all sorts of people and it feels rewarding to be able to answer their questions and contribute to their final decision of which University to apply for.

I was responsible for opening and closing the premises, offering advice and recommendations about a range of fiction and non-fiction books whilst also handling money from sales, cashing up and completing the associated paper work. I also assisted in stock takes and was responsible for cleaning the shop. My communication skills have further improved both with colleagues and customers, as well as my independence and initiative through working alone. Through this job I have gained a positive insight into the running of a successful business.

My role as a teaching assistant in a Year 3 class was such a rewarding and invaluable experience, made more possible through the work placement module of my undergraduate degree. I was highly involved in the classroom, working with groups of children and individuals across all subjects. I also did individual and group guided reading, recording the children’s strengths, progression and areas in need of improvement. In addition, I was responsible for groups of up to six children on trips outside of school, for example a swimming lesson, walks to the local park and at Chester Zoo. I helped, encouraged, praised and disciplined the children as was appropriate, at first with guidance from the teacher and later with my own initiative as my confidence grew. I was also responsible for marking work, preparing work for display, photocopying and was involved in lesson planning.When I left the school I made each child a personalised leaving present, an origami animal bookmark. I decided on bookmarks because I had joined the school as a Reading Mentor the previous year and had done large amounts of reading with the class too. Before I made them, I asked each child what their favourite colour and animal was so that I could make them personal. The children loved them!