How long have you been working at Youth Opportunities?
I started part-time work at Youth Opps back in 2005, whilst studying at Uni. I worked for 5 years, before heading off to have my babies. I returned 5 years later and have now been back for 7 years (so my babies are not so little anymore!).
I have worked across many different roles and teams from Admin, Training, Marketing and now within our Social Enterprise – Generation Thrive.
So, in total working at Youth Opps for 12 years now 😊
What does the best day at working at Youth Opportunities look like for you?
Ooooh there are so many things that make up a “Best Workday” for me.
I especially love relationship management, connecting with others and supporting people to reach their goals.
If I had to choose it would include when I get to coach someone through their Personal Leadership Program or conduct group training workshops, they are always fun!
I also love talking to anyone who is anyone about our Personal Leadership Programs and services and how they can either support through their time, talent or treasure or how they can actually get on board and experience Personal Leadership Training as a participant themselves, for a loved one, or for their team in the workplace or in sports.
What have you learnt from one of our graduates?
I have learnt determination. Time and time again, I see our graduates put in the hard work to create the habits and attitudes of success and happiness for themselves. They are determined to lead themselves and that inspires me.
What do you wish you at 15 knew now after experiencing the YO program?
Well, I am lucky enough I don’t need to wish, because I was fortunate to get the opportunity to complete the program myself at 15 years of age. The program came to me at a time in my life where I was not engaged in school, FAR FAR away from giving my potential, felt angry and resentful all the time and was experiencing a breakdown in family relationships.
The biggest takeaways I learnt was that I can’t just sit around waiting for happiness… I can choose it, and I can create it for myself! I learnt that I couldn’t control some of my circumstances, but I could choose the way I reacted to them and what step I took next was my choice.
This gave me freedom and permission to be my best self.
The ‘Youth Opps way’ has been ingrained in me ever since 😊
Which of our Personal Leadership tools do you use most in your own life?
It kind of changes, depending on what I need at the time. Over the years I have built up my toolkit of different Youth Opps strategies, but the most consistent for me would be.
- Star Communication
- Don’t kick the cat – not passing on blackholes
- Assertive Communication (especially in my professional life)
- IGAP – a fantastic negation technique to help you achieve a win/win outcome
- To do list – this saves my bacon each day
- Self-Talk identifier, especially when my confidence is rocked
- Roadblocks, to help me work out how to work through obstacles and increase my motivation