Alumni case studies
Tower Hamlets Summer University
Bodrol Islam Khan - Age 19
I first went to Tower Hamlets Summer University in the summer of 2003 after my GCSEs. I did a few courses and including Driving Theory. My friends were Peer Motivators and I helped them out in that summer and really enjoyed it. I came back the next year as an official Peer Motivator, I did my training and met my fellow summer peers.
That summer was one to remember and this is where I made a whole lot of new friends and met a variety of people. I was well impressed by the attitude of the students attending and saw that they enjoyed participating in the courses. After the summer I missed working there and it had boosted up my confidence, self motivation, morale and I even got an accredited certificate in peer work. I was able to engage with people from different cultures, faiths and ethnicities from my own. The staff I was working with were so helpful and kind, I knew I had to come back the next year.
So I came back the following year as a Team Leader. This time around I would be having a lot more responsibility and managing an individual site and a group of Peer Motivators. The training was more intensive but I learnt a lot from it. I even helped in the Peer Motivator's training and this helped with my leadership skills. This year I was to receive a Team Leader accredited LOCN certificate and this helped show employers my knowledge of leadership. The summer flew past very quickly and I was disappointed it had to end so quickly. I again made new friends and met new people. I would do Summer Uni again any day because of the experience and memories I got.
After the summer I was in my gap year before I head off to university to study accounting and finance. So Tower Hamlets Summer University offered me a 4 month placement at the office to do general admin work and help assist with the Community Peer training. I gained office experience but enjoyed doing the training as I like meeting new people. I am hoping to come back this summer if I can and my involvement with THSU has given me a re-think in my career path.
Tower Hamlets Summer University
Rima Karim - Age 22
I have had a variety of roles in Tower Hamlets Summer University and if I gave a detailed account of all my experiences and roles, this document will turn into a length of a thesis!
I started Summer University as a student in 1999 doing courses to help me with my GCSEs (specifically Maths and French). I then went to do voluntary work for two years as a Peer Motivator and Team Leader. Being only 15/16 at the time, it was great to find out that there was more to life than just school and home and in many ways I was luckier than a lot of my school friends who left school only with qualifications, whereas I had the added benefit of volunteering experience. I completed over 200 hours of volunteering and got an accredited certificate.
In 2002 I was employed by Summer Uni to work for the enrolment team - it is now 2006 and I am still on the team and still enjoy what I do.
Since then, I have also run a Summer Uni course with the help of a colleague, and taken a group of young people to Cornwall for three nights where they engaged in a range of activities from CV building to giving presentations.
One of the most memorable experiences I had was when I got involved in an exchange project called Unboxed and had a great two week experience in South Africa where UK participants and South African participants had the opportunity to exchanges ideas and experiences about several human rights issues. I even got the opportunity to meet one of Nelson Mandela's prison inmates who was jailed during the apartheid.
Summer Uni has definitely brought out a lot of skills in me. Volunteering allowed me to build confidence in myself as well as others and the best thing of all was meeting so many new people! I didn't think that I would be able to lead a group effectively but team leading and working in one-to-one situations definitely changed my perception of what I am able to do. I've just completed my psychology degree in Goldsmiths and hope to pursue a career in psychotherapy in the near future.
Rima is currently studying in a postgraduate course to become a psychotherapist.
Tower Hamlets Summer University
James Horrox
I have been a volunteer at Toynbee Hall for the past five years and it was there whilst preparing our own Financial Literacy course for THSU that I first came across the Summer Uni prospectus. The range of courses on offer was superb but having already completed the first year of my undergraduate economics degree, and fostering an interest in finance, it was the Trading Floor course that most interested me.
The course managed to condense into a week an introduction to all areas of the bank and how they relate to each other - something that is very difficult to comprehend from the outside. Specific presentations by the human resources department, relating to CV building and job hunting in the industry, were invaluable.
My ideas as to what an investment bank consisted of were expanded upon and I found myself in a situation whereby I could ask questions, no matter how trivial they might have seemed, and be rewarded with knowledge that I couldn't have obtained from anywhere else. As I was often told: the only stupid question is the one you don't ask!
At the end of the course I enquired as to whether I would be able to undertake a period of work experience the following summer, my penultimate year of university, and was fortunate enough to be offered two weeks based on the Money Markets desk. From there I was rotated around the rest of the bank and was able to spend time shadowing traders on different desks, attend morning meetings, and learning about the different products in more detail. I found the whole experience gave me a clearer idea as to my future career path and provided me with greater motivation for the remainder of my undergraduate studies.
On completion of my undergraduate degree I worked for a year at UBS and then returned to study to do an MSc in Quantitative Finance. I am currently working on my Masters thesis and am looking forward to joining Barclays Capital full time on the funds desk next month.
I was greatly helped and influenced by the people I met at Barclays Capital. My time there gave me the insight I needed to find something that I really felt passionate about, and I consider myself very fortunate to be in the position I am in today.
James is now employed by Barclays Capital, Canary Wharf.
Tower Hamlets Summer University
Rose Iliza - Rose is a young refugee from Rwanda whose entire family was murdered in the genocide in 1994. In summer 2006, Rose had a leg amputated due to a rampaging infection which got into her shin bone from an injury she sustained before escaping to the UK.
My involvement with Tower Hamlet Summer University was I acted as a peer motivator. My role was to help young people who were on different courses and helping tutors as well as THSU staff in the day today delivery of the programmes.
Tower Hamlets Summer University has helped me discover some of the potential I didn't know that I had. For example, I didn't know I was capable of meeting new people and start a conversation with them, however when I was training to become a Peer Motivator, I was shown how to approach people and make them as well as myself feel at ease by engaging and disengaging in conversations in a mannerly way. While I was with Summer Uni I learned never to make assumptions just by looking at someone as before I used to just look at people and decide I didn't like them so I never used to make any effort to know them but now thanks to Summer Uni and their training and the friends I made, this has changed to me being open minded.
Right now I am at college doing an AS level in Health and Social Care and hoping to continue next year in the second year.
Tower Hamlets Summer University
Roxy A. Peterson, M.F, NVQ, GNVQ, BTEC, BA (Hons.)
I was involved with Summer Uni for 3 years. I trained in communication skills, team work skills, conflict resolution, presentation skills and equal opportunity policies. I worked as part of the 'Peer Motivation Team' for two years where I became a team leader in my third. I promoted Summer Uni and it's initiative to 600+ people at times in conferences with the Princes Trust, the then Millennium Commission and Schools and youth clubs. I met people such as H.R.H the Prince of Wales, the late Earl of Dalkheith (Millennium Commissioner), Ben Elton and Tony Blair. I also carried out tutor and program manager support and administration.
Summer Uni helped me heighten my skills which in turn helped me and others to build and strengthen a company called Tolerance in Diversity which educates youth about racism and promotes conflict resolution. With all this training I was able to go on and get my Degree. A BA in Design, Semiology and a minor in Political Science.
Right now I am a Teacher and Program Director for a Nationally Recognised Youth Assistance program in the United States of America called VisionQuest. I am currently posted in Orlando, Florida. I can say 100%, hand on heart that Summer Uni was one of the main benefactors to me being where I am today, not forgetting my Mum.
Tower Hamlets Summer University
Naeem Mahmood
I'm currently working full time as an intern in a TV company which is going great. The channel is called Just Fabulous TV (Sky 372) - it's a new channel soon to launch, based in London, Bermondsey. I'm their in-house graphic designer. I have learnt so much so far. Still plan to finish off my final year at uni after this one year internship though.
Hope all is well at THSU - thanks to all you guys for having those photo-shop and flash courses back in the days, that's where it all started for me!
Hackney Young People's University
Junior Owuso - Age 20
Junior took part in our summer university programme in 2003 as a student, and enjoyed his experience so much the following year he joined our team of volunteers as a Peer Motivator. He continued to volunteer throughout the year. For our 2004 programme he was part our enrolment team. Junior always had a passion for photography and video recording and was always up for taking our pictures for the programme and recording our events - It didn't take us long to realise that we had a gifted and talented young man on our hands.
During 2004 Junior began his degree in practical film and video and successfully completed this year; during his studies he secured a work placement with a media company, who have now taken him on as a full time employee and he has also set himself up as a freelance video and photographer - he now also runs his own company.
JC productions brings forth a range of new innovative and stylish creations that bring a new aspect to design as a whole ranging from films to graphics. They design any print media as well as the filming of events. If you would like further information about Junior's company, his contact details are 07944 860992 or email: jcproduction@hotmail.co.uk.
Junior now designs all of HYPU publicity.
Hackney Young People's University
David Osuhon - Age 17
David joined our programme as a student on our Young Summer Uni programme in 2001. He used to come to the office with his older sister - his excuse was, 'I just want to see what it like to work in a office'. That was in 2004 at the tender age of 14; from day one he showed interest in what we were doing and the work that we did. He joined our volunteer team that year and was very happy and contributed positively.
In 2005 David became one of our peers and again worked very hard and contributed his ideas to make Summer Uni 2005 a great success. During 2006, David informed the staff that he is taking control of our end of summer show this year as he had not been impressed with our previous shows - at the age of 16 he raised the funds, booked all of the acts, co-ordinated the venue and his team - and it was just wicked.
2007 David is writing our grant applications and has already raised a considerable amount of funds for the Peer Motivators, this year he will lead the team. He is also the Chair of the HYPU Young Users Forum.
Newham Summer School
Luke Marshall
Summer School got me interested in acting!
Since taking part in the East-Side Educational Trust's Summer School workshops in musical theatre I went on to realise that musical theatre was what I wanted to be a part of. Musical theatre is now my passion and I'm trying my best and putting all my energy into making it my future career.
The workshops that East-Side run gave me so much confidence, not just in acting, singing and dance but in everyday situations.
From the workshops, I took a more active role in drama lessons at school and also did what I could to improve my singing and dance technique. I joined the school choir and school dance clubs. I also took out of school singing lessons and was one of the original members of Solid Harmony, The Newham Youth Choir founded by Jane Wheeler, Nick Bowers-Broadbent and Mo Mason.
I then auditioned for a part in a school play, which before the workshops I would never have even thought about mainly due to the lack of confidence I had before. I got a minor role and that made me believe in myself, even though it wasn't major.
I went on to become a major figure in my schools 'creative side' becoming head of drama clubs and had session of teaching the school choir. The work I put into my school had not gone un-noticed and when the major summer musical came around, which was 'Grease', I auditioned and was given the role as Danny Zuko. Due to my school's theatre being renovated, they hired out our local theatre, Stratford Circus. This was my first major performance on a stage and I loved every minute of it!
Realising that musical theatre was what I wanted to do, I went about finding a theatre school that I could join. Theatretrain has given me experience in the Musical Theatre industry but looking at it from a different angle. Instead of performing, because I'm too old to still be in theatre training, I work on the summer shows as head of props. This means I run the whole props division of the show and gives me major responsibly.
Right now, I'm studying a BETC National Diploma in Musical Theatre. I'm in my first year and it's a two-year course. After which, I hope to go to Arts Educational or The Guildford School of Acting.