Student Volunteering Week 2016

Today is the start of Student Volunteering Week 2016! This week we want to celebrate some of the fantastic work our student volunteers are doing across the country, and some of the pilot schemes we have been working on to get more students and young people involved in boosting their digital skills, and helping children in their local community.

Mia is one of our student volunteers who is about to get started running her first Code Club after Easter. She’s also been helping us at local events in the South East, recently assisting our coordinator, Dan Powell, at the Brighton Science Festival.

We chatted to Mia about how she heard about Code Club, and why she decided to get involved:

 

“Being a trainee primary school teacher who specialises in computing I thought that Code Club would be the perfect opportunity to get teaching and coding experience as well as make some contacts in the education industry. When you are a student it can be difficult feeling motivated to work for free, however volunteering in the local community as a student is a valuable experience for a number of reasons.

Firstly if you are studying in a new place it is a great way to get out and find out about the community you have moved to, you can gain new experiences and build your skills, which is great preparation for work after university. The most valuable thing that I have found is the range of people I have met which has led to further opportunities and a wider range of career options.

To students who are thinking about volunteering for Code Club I’d say absolutely go for it! It is only an hour or two a week and you don’t need to be an expert – you can learn new skills with the children which is such a rewarding experience. The community is a great one to be a part of too, everyone is friendly, supportive and willing to help.”

To find out more about volunteering with Code Club, visit https://www.codeclub.org.uk/start-a-club/volunteers/student-volunteers