Seema Chandwani
How it started?
I started going to Youth Club when I was 12 years old, I was getting into loads of trouble at school and if the police came to my house one more time I would have been sent abroad as my family had enough! It is easy to think that all Youth Workers do was to watch young people play table tennis but it was a lot more than that. I began to learn about consequences of my actions, how to take responsibility and start taking my life seriously.
As I started becoming an older member (16 years old) of the Youth club I was given more responsibility:
- like helping out in the tuck shop
- organising trips
- ordering the stationary.
At first it was all the boring admin stuff but it meant I got to go in the staff office so I didn’t mind. As time went on I started delivering workshops on:
- sexual health
- drama
- racism
- crime
I really loved it and despite a majority of my friends and none of my family understanding what Youth Work was, thanks to my volunteering I knew what it was and decided that this was what I wanted to do.
When I was 18 years old I went to the Youth Office (without an appointment) and brazenly knocked on the bosses door asking for some paid work, I was a student and really needed money! I didn’t know how to do any other job and I didn’t want to know do another job anyway! Despite the fact that I was responsible for vandalising his car 4 years previously (I know I feel ashamed!) he done me a deal and offered me temporary work working on a lunchtime club in a school……. My old school! If I was as good as I thought I was he would see what other opportunities there was in the service!
(Please note – employment laws and equal opportunities policies now exist and this wouldn’t be possible in 2007!)
I was finally a paid Youth Worker !! yaaaay! – ok, ok, it was only a 2 hour contract, but I knew I was going to get more as I was determined to prove to my boss how much I wanted to do this. Within about 6 months he increased my hours and got me doing loads of sessions around the borough and even paid for me to do my Youth Work qualification!
How I took it further?
I went to college to do a GVNQ in Health and Social Care so I could learn more about working in the social care industry. I went on to go to University and done my degree, I still had a few hours with the Youth Service and worked on holiday schemes. I also took on various opportunities to work in different teams wanting to experience different aspects of Youth Work and broaden my understanding.
I still volunteered even when I got paid work by shadowing people in my own time to see what they did, being part of Management Committees of Voluntary Organisations, doing voluntary placements with different agencies etc. Just gained as much experience as I could so I had a better understanding of working with young people.
What I do now?
I graduated in 2001 and took on various full time roles working with young people or in youth work ranging from being a:
- Connexion PA
- A Positive Activities Co-ordinator
- A Lecturer in Youth Work and a Youth Work Consultant.
Now strangely enough I have returned back to Haringey Youth Service and am now the Curriculum, Quality Assurance and Training Manager.
All of this started just because I volunteered!
Seema Chandwani
