Q: How did you become a part of Mary’s?
My brother originally worked here so I knew about the youth club that way. Then when I was about 17 he told me about a paid role that was available. So I applied, and got accepted as a trainee youth worker.
Unfortunately that was around the time of COVID, so they had to let me go just a few months after I started.
However I did come back to do some volunteering and I did that for about 1 year. I used to come in 1 day a week during my undergraduate course to volunteer in the gym
Q: What roles did you do whilst you were here?
When I was trainee we started up a project that involved making jam to raise money. I really loved that project. We were making our own jam and then doing the branding for it. The young people really loved doing it. I think they also liked it because I was there, they liked my presence
Then when I came back to volunteer in the gym, I was there to make sure that everyone was using the gym safely. On top of that we used to warm up together, and then everyone would branch off and focus on their own goals.
I would help them make their goals, and then workout how to achieve them by making sure that they were doing the exercises that were relevant for their goals: I’d help them formulate a plan.
I’d then do a cool down with them, and make sure they weren’t doing anything silly in the gym
Q: What keeps you connected to the youth club?
A sense of loyalty – at the time when I applied for a job, no one gave me an opportunity. I applied for so many things. Mary’s gave me a chance
Second of all, it’s good to work with young people. I was able to share what I had learnt from my failures
Also I feel like I’m part of a family here. There is a sense of community here that feels like an important part of Islington
Q: How did working for the youth club benefit you?
It was good for managerial roles. I had to coordinate the space to make sure that nothing went wrong. It made me more diligent and made me pay more attention to details. Especially as we had to debrief: to pick up on the small things, the good things, and everything in between
It also made me more open-minded- sometimes what the young people like is not what you like, sometimes you have to accept people as they are. Working at the youth club, made me understand that others are different to me
Q: Any advice you’d give to young people who want to attend the youth club?
I’d tell them to go and keep an open mind- if they like it they’ll stay and if they don’t like it, they’ll probably stay anyway
Q: Three words to describe the youth club?
Fun, wholesome and diverse!
