OUR PEOPLE: Stefanie finds a hidden gem

 

 

A I began working for the YMCA six weeks ago, in a strange way it all still seems very new, but it also feels like I've been here for ages, everyone's been so welcoming and I've taken in so much information in a relatively short space of time.

Q What did you do previously?

A Prior to working for the YMCA I was a student at UEA. I moved to Norwich three years ago for uni and it was the best decision I've made, I met some of the best friends here and just love living in Norwich and hopefully my degree and the experience I've had will help me establish a career working with young people.

 

After uni I'd been getting frustrated searching for a job, with every newspaper and TV headline suggesting that nobody had a chance of finding anything, so when the YMCA job turned up, I knew I'd found a hidden gem. It ticked every box, working for a great youth-based charity and being able to stay in the area I love. I've been very fortunate that it's all worked out so far.

 

 

A My job role primarily is to support chief executive Tim Sweeting and so it seems to involve a little bit of everything, a large part of my job is doing research into the YMCA and other youth-based organizations, to know our strengths and to know the types of youth work in our area.

 

I'm also working with Susie Knights on the AGM and our Annual Report which involves working with designers and allows for a bit more creativity. Obviously there is a lot of day-to-day stuff like going to meetings, summarizing reports and liaising with colleagues on tasks. I'm really enjoying the variety to the job, no two days are the same.

 

A In my spare time I like to relax a lot with friends, watch films, go into the city for a window shop and out for food and drinks, ( I suppose I'm not doing a lot to break the student stereotype of being lazy and eating and drinking). One of my big hobbies is watching football, so I'm very glad the season has started again, I'm a Villa fan so things aren't looking too good at the moment but I'm keeping positive, Norwich are my second team now and I enjoy going to watch them.