Young person wins overall EPIC Award
Hey there, my name Aneira (Nye) Roose-McClew and I’m an 18 year old living in the London borough of Camden.
As a young person, I think it’s vital that we have opportunities open to us outside of school education; a chance to
express ourselves and be active, instead wasting away in front of the TV like so many people do. To put my
thoughts into action, I got involved in youth work, by way of Peer Motivating, for Camden Summer University in
April 2006.
Peer motivators are placed on all of the Camden Summer University courses, act as the bridge between
the tutors and the students and are there to support students on the courses. It’s a valuable scheme as it’s always
comforting to know there’s someone there that you can talk to if you have a problem or even if you just simply want
to talk. Becoming a peer motivator involved attending weekly training sessions for two months, and then attending
courses during the summer holiday months. The time commitment was probably the most difficult part of the job,
but it was well worthwhile as I met so many different people, got to experience such a range of courses and was
supporting other young people in my community. My Peer Motivating experience inspired me to continue being an
active citizen and I’ve been involved in various schemes such as training new peers, setting up ballet classes and
drama work since.
I won an Epic award, which stands for Exceptional People In Camden, which is basically a Camden council
commendation programme that recognises the work that people do in Camden. I was not expecting to win, but
was seriously happy when I did as I witnessed how my work was appreciated and acknowledged. It also allowed
others to recognise how the youth of today do play a positive role in the community, as we have so much unjust
coverage nowadays that it’s no wonder many people choose to live up to the anti-social stereotypes. I’m by no
means ranting and raving about how much of a good person I am to give up my time to youth work, as personally I
don’t perceive it as giving up my time because I love doing it, I’m just trying to display how easy and great it is to
get involved. Voluntary work isn’t a burden, and the more you get out there and participate the more you realise
that. Being an active young person, not only motivates others, but also motivates you as a person, which are
rewards in themselves and then when your work is recognised it’s an added bonus. I hope I’ve inspired you to get
up off your sofa and get out there because you won't regret it. Good luck and Cheers for reading.
Nye
aneira@c-world.co.uk
