What do you do?
I’m a leader at 1st Monifieth Rainbows and 1st Muirhead Brownies. I have been helping with this Brownie unit since I was in Guides, so it has been about 7 years!
Why do you do it?
I have been in Girlguiding since I was a Rainbow when I was 5! I started helping at Brownies when I was doing my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh and have stuck with it since as I enjoy it. I have loads of good memories from when I was a Rainbow/ Brownie/ Guide, from weekly meetings to international trips, so being able to give the same kind of experience to the girls in the units now and being able to develop positive relationships with them is really fulfilling.
What do you get out of it?
Before I started helping, I was very shy and quiet, volunteering pushed me out of my comfort zone and grew my confidence massively! I have been able to develop so many different skills like leadership, organisation and teamwork, which I have been able to apply elsewhere in my life for example, at uni or work.
These skills have also been very useful when it comes to personal statements or job interviews!
Being profoundly deaf, I have always found it hard to find a place where I fit in, and Girlguiding has been that inclusive place where I have felt welcomed and felt that I could do anything I wanted, for example completing my Baden-Powell Award, attending camps, and now just about completed my LDP! I have visited different units to teach some British Sign Language and raise some awareness of deaf culture. I am lucky enough to have always been surrounded by a strong team of leaders, who support me whenever I need.
What is your day job?
I am a student audiologist in the NHS and studying Clinical Physiology at Glasgow Caledonian University.
