Student Trustee Profile – Jarren, President
Jarren has been a volunteer at Discovery for 2 years, after being directed to join by the employability team, and has now worked her way up to being President. She began by taking part in the student ‘Give It A Go’ week which takes place every year, and is a great way to try out some projects and see what interests you. Originally, she had her sights set on the COP projects as she wants to be a police officer after university, and therefore it would be great experience to help her in the future. However, she really enjoyed herself during that week, and ended up joining up to 10 different projects over the two years. During this time, she was also PC (Project Coordinator) of two projects – COP project and the Youth Club – which mean that she had a leadership role running the projects.
After two years, Jarren decided she wanted to take on a bit of extra responsibility and have some say in the decision making for Discovery, so decided to run for a student trustee position. Having experience as a trustee for a charity is excellent experience and a boost for employability, but more than just that, Jarren wanted to give something back. She had gained so much from Discovery over her two years of volunteering that she wanted a chance to give back something by helping out in a more senior way.
So far, she has got so much out of Discovery, both in terms of boosting employability, but also gaining valuable skills and meeting so many new people. The key skill Jarren says she has developed whilst volunteering and being President, is team work. Working within a team is essential within any of the projects, but especially when working as a trustee. To get decisions made it is important to be able to work well with others but also be on the ball and be able to make quick and important choices. Also, being a trustee has given Jarren a bigger sense of responsibility and more experience leading – such as having to lead chair meetings, represent Discovery, support the rest of the trustees and make governance decisions which helps with employability.