No this is not my first ever job, it is however, a BIG job. I will explain…
BIG to me has come to mean Beautiful, Intense and Ground-breaking. It refers to the type of experience that alters your very consciousness. It was after completing the GSL Catalyst in Beijing that BIG took on this meaning (those of you who were involved will understand). For all of us, though, we can understand the notion of BIG moments. So like when we are born, when we leave school, when we strive for something, when we achieve it. University for me was BIG, and it was just after I finished my finals that I met with a BIG organisation, Future Foundations.
It was 2009, when I first became aware of Future Foundations. I was surfing the careers page at the University of Bristol and there was an advert for a Humanities Tutor working on a summer schools programme, I thought as I had just finished my degree in Sociology and with my experience in youth work, why not give it a shot? I clicked on the link and I was then confronted with a timed application – what?! I later came to realise that having it timed meant my brain would be firing out responses more honestly. The one question I remember was “If your friends used one word to describe you what would that be?”. Well, that was obvious, “Quirky”. My husband remembers another question, “When are you happiest?”, apparently my response was, “Hugging”. Bish (personal details), bash (education), bosh (work experience), 20 minutes later I was done.
So, I was called to interview in London. I sat in a coffee shop with a sweet woman called Becky and I was so nervous I never took my jacket off because I had sweated so badly I didn’t dare. I noticed that Becky, had highlighted the word ‘Quirky’ on my application, who knew that the one thing that I saw as a flaw at times was actually a bonus point in an application (well, with FF anyway). She was so inspiring that I was desperate for the job. Becky, however, had reservations and wanted me to meet the Big Cheeses. Suddenly, I found myself opposite the Founders, Jack Butler and Jon Harper, who explained that their main reservation was my lack of public speaking experience. My only response was “I enjoy a challenge and I give everything I do 100%”. I was in. That interview, I would later realise, was a BIG moment in my life.
On that first programme in Colchester, I had the most remarkable three days. We took a group of young girls to Cambridge to inspire them to have high aspirations and help them to realise that this type of university was within their reach, they just had to stretch. To this day I still clearly remember Jon Harper sitting under a tree in the grounds of Cambridge University tearing life strips. Again, this was a BIG moment and the first of many with FF. I was so moved by the incredible journey my team went through on that programme that I cried at the closing plenary in front of a room full of parents, teachers and the Founder of FF. Like I said, it was BIG.
Over the last 8 years, as a Network Associate, I have worked on a diverse range of programmes from one day leadership training in well-established fee-paying schools to three week NCS adventures where I’ve been challenged to face my own fears #NCSCHANGEDMYLIFE. Every programme I have ever worked on has had a BIG effect on me. I have met so many incredible coaches, young people and managers. I have had many moments where I have seen the world through new eyes, where I’ve been inspired by someone’s personal resilience. Every time I commit to a work pack I know that I will grow as a result of clicking “I accept”. The reason this happens is because Future Foundations has a BIG mission and one that its team members are wholeheartedly committed to. So, when the opportunity arose to step up and take on a new role I felt genuinely scared, like the fear you feel before you jump out of a plane. This fear is one filled with the excitement that comes with going on an adventure, of doing something daring and radical. It also comes from knowing that the people who work for FF are of the highest quality, they live and breathe their values, they strive to make the world a better place and that is something that is BIG in a world that can make us feel so small. I am so honoured to be able to join a BIG team, I can’t wait to grow BIGger, and I can’t wait to further their impact in a BIG way. So, why not see what BIG moments you can have with Future Foundations? You never know you might just end up on the Great Wall of China…