My name is Jodie, and I am one of the Ambassadors for Venture Scotland. I was a participant of the programme from June 2018 till April 2019 and I became an ambassador in 2020 during Covid. I have loved every minute of it.
Being an Ambassador has given me some amazing opportunities and the chance to give back to the people and charity that saved me and changed my life for the better. One of the many things VS have given me is helping me get to a place in my life where I could finally get a job – in May 2019 I became an Outdoor Activity/Paddlesport Instructor at PGL Dalguise.
So, how has being an Ambassador helped me in my job?
Being an ambassador has helped me in my job in so many different ways, like improved confidence and resilience, emotional intelligence and a better understanding of how things work in the background, i.e the corporate side of a business. One of the opportunities I have gotten as an Ambassador is to help VS conduct interviews for new staff. This has been an invaluable skill. With these skills I felt that I could even apply for a more senior role at PGL. I was very fortunate and got an interview. The skills I learnt from helping conduct the interviews with VS made the interview I did for Team Leader less intimidating and I felt I came across very well, even though I didn’t get the job the experience was invaluable.
Other skills have also come in handy, like emotional intelligence and communication. I work with kids, so having the ability to connect and communicate with them and understand how their emotions affect them is crucial. I can use that understanding to make sure they have an amazing time. Having the ability to connect and communicate in a more informed, out of the box way has made my job more fun and engaging for both me and the guests, not just the kids but the adults too.
Through VS I got exposed to many different outdoor activities and got the chance to develop a good understanding of them and some skill in them too. I am also very lucky that I got to experience so many different coaching, teaching and instructor styles that I now incorporate into my own.
There have also been the ability to put some amazing things on my CV, like attending board meetings, helping with social media and funding, youth work experience, personal development, great examples for teamwork, leadership skill, conflict management, mental health first aid and many more.
I could write pages on how being both a participant and an Ambassador for Venture Scotland has helped me with my job, but I’d be here all day. I wouldn’t be here without the amazing opportunities I’ve been given, and I feel like I’m set for success in whatever I put my mind to.
Jodie, Venture Scotland Ambassador
