Passion for youth work and humanitarian work leads to special award
Holly Gooch, from Cardigan, has recently graduated from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David with a BA in Youth Work and Social Education (ETS Endorsed). She also jointly won the Carl John Memorial Prize for Studies in Youth and Community Work*, with fellow student Ash Lewis, for the dedication and commitment they have shown to their studies and their Youth Work practice.
Holly says that her journey at university has been life changing and has cemented her love for youth work and also for humanitarian work.
During a gap year following her A Levels, Holly worked in local pub which gave her the opportunity to reflect at her own experiences and the impact of growing up in a remote village without facilities for young people. She decided to apply for a degree course that would enable her to give back to young people in ways that would have made a such a difference to her own experience.
This decision led her to the BA Youth Work and Social Education ETS Endorsed programme at UWTSD. She says:
“After my interview with Angharad Lewis and Alana Enoch, I fell in love with the ways in which the course supported and empowered young people in ways in which I had needed as a young person. I chose UWTSD because of the strong relationships the lecturers have with their students. Furthermore, living in Cardigan it was close enough for me to engage in university life but also give back to the community in which I was raised to really make sure I could make as much impact as possible whilst learning”.
“I truly fell in love with every aspect of the course - its empowerment, its strong relationship with young people and the way in which we uplift both families and young people. It has developed my belief in myself, my confidence and my work with young people”.
Holly’s aims were to move onto a master’s programme in social work so that she could pursue a career as a social worker, but after an experience of volunteering in Africa as part of the course in her second year, she realised how much her aims and ambitions had changed to wanting to undertake humanitarian work.
She continues: “During 2023, I had the opportunity to go to Africa with Play Action International to build playgrounds for underprivileged youth across Uganda. This is where I found my unconditional love for humanitarian work. It truly changed my life, without my lecturers telling and showing me this opportunity, it would have never changed my life in the way that it has. Together with ten other students I built playgrounds, utilising creative means to build relationships with young people and make a real impact on the community of Buyala in which we were located. This opportunity truly changed my life, and I now am in the process of applying to be a volunteer co-ordinator with the charity”.
Although balancing work and personal commitments, including the commute to the University’s Carmarthen campus, could sometimes be challenging and overwhelming, Holly says that her lecturers were very accommodating. She continues:
“My lecturers were so supportive and were sometimes able to move around times of lectures and would often offer online sessions during my dissertation to decrease the amount of stress I was under. I was able to overcome all these challenges because of the support of my lecturers, family, friends and my partner Dan. A big struggle I faced when beginning university was my Social Anxiety Disorder, this meant that I often would have panic attacks about my presentations or assignments. This is where my support networks of lecturers, family and friends and partner were amazing”.
Holly continues: “I would recommend this course to others that are thinking of any studies to do with Young People. I didn’t realise how much this course would give me confidence to work with young people and the opportunities it would give me. It’s an amazing course filled with amazing lecturers and students who are all passionate about making impacts on young people through engaging and fun ways. Furthermore, the course has elevated my confidence and skills to effectively make an impact in my community”.
Angharad Lewis, Programme Manager says: “Witnessing Holly’s journey over the last three years, both personally and academically, has been a privilege. She has overcome a number of challenges and has really stepped out of her comfort zone during her time as a Youth Work student. This demonstrates Holly’s resilience and her ability to respond to any circumstances she is faced with. These qualities will stand her in good stead as a professionally qualified Youth Worker.
“When I think of Holly, I see someone who is highly creative with a great ability to think outside of the box. This could be seen in the way she would approach her assessments, for example the way she would turn her hand at creating excellent Youth Work resources in situations where these did not exist, and in the way she created TikTok videos as part of her placement’s professional journal to highlight a day in the life of a student on placement. Holly was an exceptionally hard-working student, both in relation to her academic studies and her engagement on placement, and we hope to be able to publish some of her work on www.youthworkwales.org.uk so that her work can be seen widely, and can inform both practice and strategy. Holly is an excellent Youth Worker, with a very creative eye, and she will make an impact on young people and their communities wherever her graduate career takes her, and I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Holly”.
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*The Carl John Memorial Prize for Studies in Youth and Community Work is named after a former lecturer of Youth Work on the Carmarthen campus.
Further Information
Eleri Beynon
Head of Corporate Communications and PR
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: e.beynon@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 07968 249335