Callum's Year of Volunteering

Name: Callum

Course studied at NTU: Computer, 
Science and Mathematics

 Year of graduation: 2017

 Organisation name: National Video-game Arcade

What volunteering were you involved in whilst a student at NTU?  Was it course related or to help with a particular career choice?
I currently volunteer at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries, whose sites include Nottingham Castle and Wollaton Hall amongst others. I started my volunteer journey before university during my gap year, I realised I wasn’t very good at anything really (or rather I didn’t really have any opportunities to find out if I was good at anything) so was keen to try my hand at anything, everything really.

I joined a variety of volunteer projects, I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do. Some of the projects I joined where wonderful but required me to commit too much time (knowing that I would be joining university). Some were good experiences but not really what I wanted to do, it turns out that in the end the project that I didn’t think I would enjoy suited me perfectly!

Has your volunteering helped your employability since graduating?  If so, in what way?

As I said earlier I currently volunteer (and have for around 4 years now) at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries, or more specifically on their Illuminate group, which is a young people group that work on a variety of projects at the museums. I do other things too, but this is my core volunteering there.

The experiences I’ve gained have not only helped me grow as an individual but also have given me a plethora of work skills. Last summer I applied for a job at the National Videogame Arcade, I remember in the interview rather than not having enough to say having far too much. I gained all this experience that didn’t really feel like work and it helped me get a job at the National Videogame Arcade.

What advice would you give students when considering taking part in extra-curricular activities such as volunteering?

I just wanted to note how much I appreciate the volunteering team here at NTU. While I didn’t need assistance finding the volunteer work knowing that there only an email/phone/visit away to help me with any problems is very reassuring, so if you’re unsure on something or want to try out something new there to help.

There’s this notion that volunteer work is for the elderly or just working behind a till in a charity shops. It’s not at all, it’s for everyone and the experiences are so varied. Volunteer work has quite literally change my life, it has given me some wonderful opportunities, I have grown as a person and feel confident when I leave university that the skills and experiences I have had will help me secure full time employment.”

If you would like to volunteer at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries like Callum you can log on to FutureHub to view their opportunities: https://futurehub.ntu.ac.uk/students/organisations/jobs/96099 or view a range of other volunteering roles here: www.ntu.ac.uk/volunteering