0:01

made the forecast from

0:01

centre by young people for all

0:05

people. Centerpoint is the UK is

0:05

leading youth homelessness

0:12

charity. at Centerpoint. We

0:12

believe no young person's life

0:17

should be defined by

0:17

homelessness. We give young

0:21

people the support they need to

0:21

heal and grow no matter what.

0:25

for over 50 years, we've been

0:25

the centre point for change,

0:28

personal and political. Everyone

0:28

has their part to play with

0:34

young people leading the way.

0:34

This podcast has been created by

0:38

young people with lived

0:38

experience of homelessness will

0:43

be shining a spotlight on some

0:43

of the issues that affect us. We

0:48

hope to challenge and change

0:48

some of the stereotypes and

0:52

bring others with us as part of

0:52

a movement to end youth

0:55

homelessness for good. Hello, and welcome to point made

1:05

the centre point podcast by

1:09

young people for all people. My

1:09

name is Dan Douglas, and I'm the

1:13

host of this month's episode

1:13

where we'll be discussing access

1:16

to higher education. We are

1:16

recording this podcast on a

1:19

level results day. So

1:19

congratulations to everyone. If

1:23

you've managed to secure a place

1:23

a University of your choice,

1:26

props to you. In today's

1:26

episode, we'll be looking at the

1:29

experience of accessing and

1:29

sustain in higher education for

1:32

vulnerable young people.

1:32

Currently just 6% of care

1:35

leavers, aged 19 to 21 go into

1:35

higher education, and those that

1:39

do are nearly twice as likely to

1:39

drop out than their peers. at

1:43

Centerpoint. Almost 40% of young

1:43

people we support our care

1:47

leavers. But all of the young

1:47

people we support will

1:49

experience some barriers to

1:49

access and higher education,

1:52

whether that be financial,

1:52

educational, social, mental, or

1:56

a combination. That isn't hard

1:56

enough. Our cost of living

1:59

crisis means that young people

1:59

are even more anxious about

2:02

sustaining higher education to

2:02

paint a bit of a bleak picture.

2:06

A recent survey by Nationwide

2:06

shows that two thirds of

2:09

students are struggling to pay

2:09

bills are falling behind on

2:13

their rent, prompting growing

2:13

numbers to borrow money or use

2:16

overdraft as a fear of

2:16

homelessness raises. Young

2:20

people supported by centre point

2:20

have already experienced

2:22

homelessness or trauma or both.

2:22

They want to embark on something

2:26

that moves them forward, not

2:26

backwards. They may not have

2:29

family members they can turn to

2:29

if they find themselves in

2:32

crisis. But this is not all doom

2:32

and gloom. Things are tough.

2:36

Yes. But we are going to be

2:36

looking at what support is

2:40

available, and how you can save

2:40

money and general advice on your

2:44

journey into higher education.

2:44

So on the panel today, we have

2:48

myself Baron Douglas, I am a

2:48

former Centrepointe resident,

2:52

who is now an advisor manager at

2:52

Imperial College London, as well

2:56

as a centre point trustee. And I

2:56

also have two former centre

2:59

points service users. And I'll

2:59

go to one of them first.

3:04

Hi, everyone. My name is Nora, I

3:04

was being provided with flooding

3:08

support from centre points. I'm

3:08

currently in my third year of

3:10

university soon graduating and

3:10

I'll be becoming a social

3:14

worker. So I'm looking forward to it. Hi, guys, my name is Nadia. I'm

3:17

a former Centerpointe resident

3:20

that's moved on to independent

3:20

living. I will be starting

3:24

university in September at

3:24

London Southbank University to

3:29

study, psychological

3:29

counselling. And I've actually

3:32

been told today that I secured

3:32

my place in London Southbank.

3:38

I'm really excited to start, but

3:38

I'm also kind of nervous. So I

3:42

hope this podcast really gets me

3:42

started to fully embrace the

3:48

university life. Great to meet you both today,

3:50

I'm really excited to actually

3:52

present this podcast. As you as

3:52

I've already mentioned, you

3:56

know, I work at a university and

3:56

now I'm very passionate about

3:59

students getting the best

3:59

experience that they can. And I

4:02

think it'd be a really good

4:02

conversation to have today to

4:05

talk about sort of some of my

4:05

experiences as a as a staff

4:08

member at university here a

4:08

little bit from you, Nora, about

4:12

sort of how your first two to

4:12

three years have been and then

4:15

also kind of like help nadie in

4:15

preparation into September slash

4:20

October start. So yeah, so I

4:20

think where the place might be

4:23

to start is first of all,

4:23

congratulations, Nora,

4:26

obviously, you're gonna be getting your degree soon. How are you feeling? Are you looking

4:28

to stay in higher education,

4:31

maybe perhaps do a master's? Or

4:31

are you thinking about going

4:34

into the big wide world of work

4:34

and sort of taking that next

4:38

step in terms of your career

4:38

development?

4:42

Well, I think that's the biggest

4:42

dilemma, isn't it? Do you want

4:44

to study more? Do you want to

4:44

get to the real world that

4:47

you've been planning for your

4:47

whole life? So I mean, for now,

4:50

I'm thinking because of social

4:50

work. I have already secured a

4:53

job. Oh, excellent. Great news.

4:53

Yes, I'm just going to graduate

4:58

do my PhD dissertation and I'll

4:58

be going to that job. As a

5:00

social work trainee, and so I

5:00

get my registration number. So

5:03

it's amazing. I don't have to

5:03

wait very long. But after that

5:07

I'm definitely going back to

5:07

education that'd be a master's

5:10

that be specialising in systemic

5:10

therapy, or I may literally just

5:15

do a low conversion degree.

5:15

Options.

5:20

Brilliant. And for you nadie How

5:20

are you feeling about obviously,

5:25

now that you've, you've got your

5:25

results? I hope you don't mind

5:28

me asking how did you feel you're done. So I actually took a gap year

5:30

after I finished I didn't really

5:35

finish college, there was a bit

5:35

of a dilemma. So I got to be

5:38

willing to work. And I was

5:38

thinking I wasn't even planning

5:42

on going to uni. I was like, You

5:42

know what, my life goal is to

5:45

become a therapist or a

5:45

psychologist. And I realised I

5:50

couldn't do that through work.

5:50

So I had to get a degree to be

5:54

what I wanted. So I just wanted

5:54

me just decided last year, hey,

5:58

I'm gonna go enrol in a college

5:58

that's not far from me and see

6:01

how this year goes. It went

6:01

absolutely amazing. It was the

6:05

best experience I've ever had. I

6:05

really was confident in the

6:10

grades I was getting. I passed,

6:10

and I got exactly the grades I

6:14

wanted, had way more D's and

6:14

distinctions than I needed. So I

6:18

was very proud. And I'm really

6:18

excited to go to uni. My

6:22

sister's been to uni. She's a

6:22

business graduate, and she seems

6:26

to have had a good experience.

6:26

So I have a similar spirit.

6:30

Definitely. Well, as much as

6:30

obviously University is about

6:34

education and developing, you

6:34

know, you get to me friends for

6:36

life. And I think especially now

6:36

as sort of like coming out of a,

6:40

of a pandemic and going through

6:40

sort of hybrid learning, I

6:42

think, fingers crossed, I think

6:42

we'll be back to a stage where

6:45

now seminars will be packed

6:45

again, there'll be lots of light

6:48

sort of student activities.

6:48

There's lots of like student

6:50

groups to get involved in. And

6:50

yeah, and you just kind of like

6:54

embrace yourself within the sort

6:54

of like the culture of the

6:56

university as well. So just to

6:56

look into that, how did you go

7:01

about your selection process for

7:01

some of the universities?

7:05

I always wanted to go to

7:05

Kingston University when I was

7:10

in college, that was my unit of

7:10

choice. But then I went to the

7:13

open days for London Southbank.

7:13

I heard really good reviews from

7:17

my key worker. And she was like,

7:17

No, you should go there. Check

7:22

it out. So then I did and they

7:22

had actually much better

7:25

opportunities for me in London

7:25

Southbank. And in terms of just

7:30

comfortability. I was here. I've

7:30

been here for 12 years, so I'm

7:34

more comfortable in London. I

7:34

kind of got scared from moving

7:36

away from everything I noticed.

7:36

I said, You know what? It seems

7:40

like God is trying to tell me to

7:40

just stay in London.

7:44

Okay, so So basically, so you

7:44

thought that London was

7:46

basically the best spot for you?

7:46

How was your experience? Nor was

7:50

it was that similar in terms of

7:50

like wanting to stay in London?

7:54

Are you in London about the chance or? Yeah, so I am based in London

7:56

and I'm definitely a London are.

8:01

So no, I always wanted to stay

8:01

in London, especially because

8:04

I've got a younger sister and I

8:04

wanted to stay closer to her

8:07

because both of us grew up in

8:07

care. And she was still going to

8:10

be living at the foster house.

8:10

While I would have moved out. I

8:13

wanted to be in close proximity

8:13

to heart. So I applied all

8:16

around London, andI my dream uni

8:16

was Goldsmith. I loved it. I was

8:23

so excited. But last minute, so

8:23

there's something about a

8:27

University of West London was

8:27

calling my name I said something

8:31

about is just so familiar. And

8:31

funny enough, when I started

8:36

going there, I realised my first

8:36

foster home used to be 15

8:39

minutes away. Really? Like it

8:39

was a circle moment for me. Um,

8:43

but no, I was very happy with

8:43

the uni I chose Yeah. And they

8:47

were very supportive. And they

8:47

have been told now even so,

8:51

yeah. Oh, that's brilliant. So you

8:51

know what, I didn't know that

8:54

you actually went to the

8:54

university was done actually

8:56

used to work there. So yeah,

8:56

I've worked there for three

9:01

years between 2018 to 2021. Only

9:01

20. Yeah. Oh, wow. Crazy. Yeah,

9:12

I probably know the campuses and

9:12

maybe for some of

9:15

the teachers, some of the staff

9:15

members then

9:17

yeah, yeah, definitely. Okay. I

9:17

mean, I think this might be a

9:21

good place to start then in

9:21

terms of going to uni. What were

9:25

things that you were maybe a

9:25

little bit unsure about or

9:28

didn't know how to access what

9:28

what were those things that you

9:30

felt actually immediately this

9:30

is what I need and was it easy

9:33

for you to find? I mean, for me, it was very last

9:35

minute because I wanted to go

9:38

uni my whole life. I knew my

9:38

plan, but I assumed that I was

9:42

going to be living with my

9:42

foster carer. After applying and

9:45

getting all my confirmations. I

9:45

was told that she expects me to

9:48

move out. Okay, so that meant

9:48

calling up by person advisor

9:52

very last minute and saying I

9:52

need to go buy forks and spoons

9:55

and I think a saucepan and do I

9:55

need balls? Yeah. It was the

10:00

weirdest conversations we were having now, because you're buying these silly things that

10:02

you've never actually had to buy

10:04

before. I think it's like, the

10:04

biggest part of adulting. Okay,

10:08

you need to buy every single

10:08

thing for yourself, you can't

10:11

just go into another cabinet to

10:11

look for it. So that it was very

10:16

rushed for me. So I had a lot of

10:16

moments like that where I, I

10:20

would literally be trying to go

10:20

to sleep and I'd wake up and I'd

10:22

write something in my notes

10:22

again, oh, I need this as well,

10:24

this as well. Okay. And of

10:24

course, it's very daunting,

10:27

because you're thinking, where's

10:27

the money going to come from?

10:30

All of this is quite literally,

10:30

it feels like you're starting up

10:33

your life again. Definitely.

10:33

Just bizarre because, for

10:36

example, for me, I wanted to say

10:36

in London, I'm still in the same

10:40

city yet. I feel like I'm

10:40

starting over. So I think I

10:44

think that kind of change can be

10:44

very overwhelming.

10:48

Definitely. And obviously, you

10:48

mentioned about things to have

10:51

like cutlery, sometimes simple

10:51

things that we might take for

10:53

granted. When you initially I'm

10:53

not sure obviously the time

10:57

period that you left to go to

10:57

uni. But did you happen to maybe

11:01

perhaps get any support in terms

11:01

of like the CPE bursary Was that

11:05

something that you managed to access at all? My situation was quite different

11:08

than others. I didn't have any.

11:11

I was referred to Centrepoint in

11:11

my second year. So my first year

11:16

I lived in uni accommodation

11:16

second year, there's a new

11:19

accommodation and I was

11:19

supported by you know, the care

11:21

leaving bursary from the

11:21

council, my key worker and my

11:24

external personal advisor, and

11:24

all of that, and the bursaries

11:27

from university and all. But

11:27

second year, when my lease ended

11:32

at my flat with my flatmates

11:32

from university, I had to move

11:36

in for the summer with my best

11:36

friend and her family. So I was

11:40

technically homeless. And it's

11:40

really funny when, ironically,

11:44

you feel at home somewhere,

11:44

you're very comfortable yet

11:46

you're technically homeless.

11:46

That kind of instability was

11:50

very confusing to me. Because I

11:50

had everything around me, I

11:53

could ask for anything, and it'd

11:53

be cooked for me even. But at

11:56

the same time, I can't have a

11:56

home address, my bank has the

11:59

wrong billing address. Yeah,

11:59

looking for a job is a bit

12:02

tricky. That's when I was

12:02

referred to Centerpointe. And

12:06

that's where I was given support

12:06

by them. But unfortunately,

12:09

because my academic year was

12:09

finishing, I could only have the

12:11

last instalment, but that's when

12:11

Centerpoint got involved with me

12:14

and I have been involved with

12:14

them. Since then. Now, I have my

12:18

own accommodation of a private

12:18

rented flat with my sister, I

12:22

moved into it after this two

12:22

months with my best friend's

12:24

family. But I get support from

12:24

Centerpoint in regards to my key

12:29

worker and everything else. And

12:29

it's been lovely honestly.

12:32

And just before I move over to

12:32

nadie has that been like really

12:37

pivotal 100% has been so pivotal for me,

12:38

one thing that is very important

12:42

to understand is that caregivers

12:42

do really like a support system,

12:47

and healthy long term

12:47

relationships. But I'm someone

12:51

who actually did have long term

12:51

relationships and a support

12:53

system. Somewhat off, you know,

12:53

I had my best friend, I had her

12:57

family I had have five sisters

12:57

and her brother, they've you

13:01

know, been my rock for so long.

13:01

But that doesn't mean that

13:06

they're professionals. So yeah,

13:06

they love me, and they care for

13:09

me, but they won't understand

13:09

how I'm feeling in regards to

13:12

being technically homeless.

13:12

Yeah, I think that was only

13:14

understood by the key worker at

13:14

Centerpoint. They were able to

13:20

provide me the right kind of

13:20

support I needed. It's almost

13:22

like they know what this is

13:22

going to feel like for me before

13:25

I even felt it. They provided me

13:25

with a lot of stability at that

13:29

time to professionals. That was

13:29

super helpful. So now when I'm

13:32

graduating till this day, I give

13:32

them a call.

13:35

That's really great to hear, you

13:35

know, for me as a trustee is

13:38

very warm in to hear your story

13:38

as well. I think it's fair to

13:42

say, you know, everybody sort of

13:42

like mental health and well

13:45

being is very important,

13:45

particularly in what we see in

13:49

the media, you know, coming

13:49

through a pandemic, have you a

13:52

been able to sort of access

13:52

wellbeing support and how was

13:57

being LinkedIn to Centerpoint

13:57

helping you during some maybe

14:01

tough times academically

14:01

reviewing and maybe sometimes

14:04

potential other issues that that

14:04

might be affecting your well

14:07

being how has that support been for you? I think even though mental

14:09

health is something that, you

14:11

know, we were gaining more

14:11

awareness on it, literally by

14:15

the hour by the day. Yeah, I

14:15

think at the same time, this is

14:18

a weird delusion that everyone

14:18

knows how to access mental

14:21

health services. When I talk to

14:21

my friends and other peers, I

14:24

realised they have no clue. And

14:24

that makes me realise my

14:27

privilege of just studying

14:27

social work and I got lucky I

14:30

know how to access the services.

14:30

And I'm someone who has tried to

14:34

access if someone has tried to

14:34

access psychotherapy through NHS

14:37

and I've not gotten any work

14:37

anywhere with it. It's actually

14:40

extremely difficult and I've

14:40

waited over six months over

14:43

eight months, I waited over a

14:43

year sometimes for a certain you

14:48

know, get off a certain waiting

14:48

list to be assessed. Even

14:50

Centerpoint was the only one

14:50

where I can actually access

14:53

support. Now I'm in

14:53

psychotherapy and healthy

14:56

relationship therapy. And it's

14:56

been amazing. I think the

14:59

profession Those that are so so good. So just quickly what what would

15:01

you perhaps say it's obviously

15:05

current centre point residents

15:05

that are struggling with their

15:09

well being? Where would you say

15:09

for them to go? And and what

15:12

sort of support can they expect? I think firstly, don't hesitate

15:14

to ask for help. And secondly,

15:18

don't wait for it to get that

15:18

bad that you think that's not

15:21

where I need help. A lot of the

15:21

times, all I need is a

15:23

conversation with my key worker

15:23

with someone who has an anxiety

15:27

disorder and chronic depression.

15:27

I don't wait for to get back to

15:30

a depressive episode I, if I

15:30

have a little bad mood, which

15:34

seemed a bit irrational to me,

15:34

all I do is call up my key

15:36

worker and I say to her, today,

15:36

it's been a bit weird. I think

15:40

it's because of this, this,

15:40

this, I tried the factors. And

15:42

sometimes it's just that you need to vent to someone professional. And they're able

15:44

to, you know, give you the

15:46

empathy and give you a good

15:46

guide on how to move forward in

15:49

your day. If you have a very

15:49

good relationship with your key

15:52

worker, I think that's so vital.

15:52

Because my key worker can hear

15:56

everything I'm saying to her and

15:56

say, Oh, no, I think this is out

16:00

of my remit. I think let's call

16:00

in a therapist, or let's get you

16:03

someone, let's get you some

16:03

counselling. And she's only able

16:06

to do that because I asked for

16:06

that help. And I don't wait for

16:09

it to get really bad. But I do

16:09

think that's a habit a lot of

16:14

young people probably have

16:14

because of the NHS. Because with

16:17

NHS when you access mental

16:17

health services, you only get

16:19

them when you're at a really bad

16:19

point in your life. You don't

16:23

get them when you're in need. You get them when you need protection and safeguarding

16:25

unfortunately, I understand

16:28

where it comes from. But that's

16:28

the advice I would give everyone

16:30

who is working with Centerpoint

16:30

at the moment. So I think that's

16:33

where Charles has come in very

16:33

handy. And that's where if you

16:36

can ask support there, go for

16:36

it. The podcast from centre by

16:42

young people, for all people. So sorry, nadie. Sorry. One of

16:47

the things that you've obviously

16:52

mentioned is that you're going

16:52

to be going to Southbank

16:55

University. And one of the

16:55

positive things I can say is

16:58

that I actually know some sort

16:58

of great staff members in the in

17:01

the Students Union there. And I

17:01

think for me, that will be one

17:05

of your first points of call, I

17:05

think to to check out some of

17:08

the activities that they do.

17:08

They also have services such as

17:12

an advice service where students

17:12

can get support on a

17:16

proliferation of issues, whether

17:16

it's sort of like mitigation

17:20

appeals and stuff like that.

17:20

Initially, what I wanted to find

17:23

out is what are the sort of the

17:23

first few things that you would

17:26

like that would help you feel a

17:26

bit more settled before you

17:30

begin your course? What are sort

17:30

of the areas or services that

17:32

you think you would like to

17:32

interact with, and get any help

17:36

or support and I think I can

17:36

maybe like, give you some advice

17:39

as to as to how you can sort of

17:39

access that.

17:42

I think one of my worries would

17:42

be that because I'm an

17:45

independent living at the

17:45

moment. And it's kind of been

17:49

very tough to find a job after I

17:49

had to leave my last one, as

17:53

Nora has mentioned already, the

17:53

living crisis at the moment is

17:56

ridiculous. And as a single

17:56

person living alone, for the

18:00

first time, having to pay for

18:00

things and try and figure out

18:04

how to get around this

18:04

financially. I think that's one

18:08

of my biggest concerns when it

18:08

comes to uni.

18:11

Definitely, I think one of the

18:11

good things about university is

18:14

that there are like sort of

18:14

student part time jobs that you

18:18

can get within different

18:18

services. So if you're someone

18:20

that's you know, likes catering,

18:20

there's things doing catering,

18:23

if there's some roles that are

18:23

to do with supporting students

18:27

sounds like taking them around

18:27

getting them to know different

18:30

campuses, there's roles like

18:30

that. There's also roles for

18:33

people that might want to work

18:33

in a library, or there are like

18:36

sort of like reception, duty

18:36

roles, and sometimes are even

18:39

roles where you can work on the

18:39

weekends. I know you wanted to

18:44

just come in there a second. No,

18:47

I definitely really struggled to

18:47

get a job as you didn't even

18:50

have a job in my first year of

18:50

university. It's just so hard.

18:53

And even though you're right,

18:53

there's so many jobs in the

18:56

university. For some reason,

18:56

they're very hard to get

18:58

sometimes, depending on the

18:58

university, of course, but two

19:02

apps that really helped me was

19:02

one is called Kupo. And others

19:06

got placed. Because of course,

19:06

applying for work is so

19:10

exhausting, and sometimes very

19:10

demotivating for people no

19:12

matter what your age, no matter

19:12

how much experience you've got.

19:15

And place was add that I can be

19:15

on my phone while I listen to

19:18

music on the train. I'm just

19:18

clicking apply, apply, apply. It

19:22

actually works. I actually got a

19:22

job to it. Cooper is an agency

19:27

that is to an app. So one thing

19:27

these agencies do, it's like

19:30

people that pay you very well,

19:30

they pay you around four pounds

19:33

an hour. They like respect your

19:33

time. So for example, while I

19:38

can't get a temporary like a

19:38

long term job, I'm going to

19:41

these little little jobs here

19:41

and there. And it's a one off

19:44

job, but I'm making more than I

19:44

would have probably made in a

19:47

long term job. And it was

19:47

watching me a bit while I still

19:50

kept looking. So definitely look

19:50

into that Nadi.

19:53

And I think just just just to

19:53

add to that as well. There are

19:57

careers teams and universities

19:57

as well. I definitely advise you

20:01

to meet with them. So yeah, so

20:01

you were saying, Nadia about

20:04

obviously, those are some of the

20:04

things that are making you

20:08

slightly bit anxious about

20:08

starting. What are the things

20:10

that you're really looking

20:10

forward to when you when you

20:12

start Southbank? I don't know if this is gonna

20:14

sound cliche, but I've always

20:17

wanted to go to university, I've

20:17

always wanted to, you know, have

20:21

my laptop in my hand conduct

20:21

studies, or sit down the

20:25

lectures there. And, you know,

20:25

just, I have this fantasy over

20:28

how my uni life should be mostly

20:28

based on movies and shows. I

20:34

want to make it my reality. I

20:34

think that's one thing that I

20:37

look forward to. Definitely I know that I think

20:39

Southbank is is, is one of the

20:45

things in one of the top 10 or

20:45

top 20 London universities for

20:49

for modern living as well. And

20:49

they've got really good

20:52

facilities there. And, and

20:52

they're based, they have

20:56

different locations across sort

20:56

of the southeast of London. You

21:00

know, and I'm sure with the,

21:00

with the course you're doing as

21:02

well, you'll get to sort of like

21:02

interact with going to many of

21:05

those spaces as well. One of the

21:05

good things as well, I know, it

21:10

sounds a bit cliche, because but

21:10

the library as well, like, you

21:13

know, sometimes people think,

21:13

Oh, it's a place where it's like

21:15

really quiet. Sometimes that

21:15

majority of the time it is

21:18

quiet, but it's a great time.

21:18

Well, I actually, like groups do

21:22

get together study really well,

21:22

like people have have lots of

21:25

kind of like fun. But then also

21:25

there's like serious study time

21:28

as well. And, and the library is

21:28

one of those places where you do

21:30

really see that you do see like

21:30

a great student vibrancy and

21:34

community. But also you've got

21:34

help that that that's at hand as

21:38

well, I would just say I think,

21:38

you know, finances are and we

21:42

talked about, obviously, the

21:42

cost of living and finance is

21:45

really a big thing at the

21:45

moment. And what's important is

21:49

to see what you're eligible for

21:49

all universities should have

21:55

something called like

21:55

discretionary support funds,

21:59

it's genuinely for students that

21:59

are going through difficult

22:03

times. So whether it's something

22:03

that's that you might need

22:06

immediately. So if you're

22:06

someone that's you know, living

22:09

in private accommodation, maybe

22:09

for the first few weeks, you

22:13

haven't got your student loan,

22:13

you'll be able to apply for a

22:17

discretionary Support Fund, they

22:17

give you the money, it's not a

22:20

loan, where you have to pay it

22:20

back. It's something just to

22:23

kind of like help you have a

22:23

period of time. Some

22:26

universities also have like, a

22:26

system, we can get like a laptop

22:30

fund as well. So if you didn't

22:30

have, you know, appropriate

22:34

technology to be able to do your

22:34

work, there might be access,

22:38

where you can leave a loaner

22:38

laptop for the year, just me

22:40

like you borrow it. And then you

22:40

know, after that, that year of

22:43

study, you give it back, or that

22:43

may be like you're funded to buy

22:46

your own laptop. I think also as

22:46

well, in terms of finances,

22:52

there should be like a team

22:52

called or service called student

22:56

student advisors, or student

22:56

support, there are ways that

22:59

what you can get that sort of

22:59

budget and techniques. Budgeting

23:02

is really, really a good skill

23:02

to apply, especially when you're

23:06

at university because you know,

23:06

it's easy to get carried away

23:10

the first few weeks you meet and

23:10

friends, you know, everyone

23:12

wants to go out have fancy

23:12

lunches. And then you know, six

23:15

weeks later, you're like, you

23:15

know, oh my gosh, the money's

23:18

going a bit fast enough thought,

23:18

you know, it's not just a skill

23:21

for university. It's a life

23:21

skill. So yeah. And then I know,

23:26

obviously, we're talking about

23:26

well being, there are

23:29

counselling services at

23:29

university institutions, there

23:33

are also maybe people that have

23:33

well being advisors as well. And

23:37

one of the key things I really

23:37

want to speak to anybody out

23:41

there, especially if, if you

23:41

have a learning disability,

23:44

there are lots of services at

23:44

universities that can help you

23:49

with that. So whether you're

23:49

someone that's got maybe like

23:51

dyspraxia, dyslexia or any other

23:51

sort of like learning

23:55

disability, and you feel like

23:55

you might find it difficult to

23:59

cope with certain situations or

23:59

with certain work, there are

24:02

services out there that a help

24:02

you with that, but also be you

24:06

can get like adjustments as

24:06

well. So for instance, you know,

24:09

if you have a learning disability, you might be able to get more time on an examination

24:11

or more time to hand in a

24:15

particular piece of work. And

24:15

there are also situations where,

24:20

if obviously, something has

24:20

happened in your life, and

24:23

you've got an important piece of

24:23

work to hand in or you've had an

24:26

examination, it hasn't gone

24:26

well, you can actually mitigate

24:30

for that. And that means that if

24:30

you were to actually fail that

24:32

piece of work, you would get the

24:32

opportunity to retake that work

24:37

at a captive market if your

24:37

mitigation application is

24:40

successful. So those are few

24:40

things I wanted to just

24:43

highlight. No, you wanted to

24:43

jump in.

24:46

I think you've said so many

24:46

important things and so many

24:49

things I feel so strongly about.

24:49

I think you starting off talking

24:52

about eligibility and talking

24:52

about there's so many things out

24:56

there for caregivers, and for

24:56

people who have you know who've

24:59

been home Homeless before, I

24:59

think the most important thing

25:02

is a lot of people from such

25:02

marginalised groups, they really

25:06

get overlooked in society. And

25:06

unfortunately, I do think that

25:10

as a part of these groups,

25:10

sometimes we're so used to it,

25:13

we don't make enough noise for

25:13

our rights, if that makes any

25:17

sense. So, for me as someone, I

25:17

do definitely identify more as a

25:22

caregiver than I do, as someone

25:22

who has experienced

25:24

homelessness, even though it's

25:24

totally changed my mindset and

25:27

the way I live my life, but that

25:27

I think I wouldn't have gotten

25:31

where I have, if I didn't make

25:31

enough noise and fight for my

25:34

rights. If you feel like

25:34

something you're doing doesn't

25:37

feel right. For example, if

25:37

you've been through something

25:39

traumatic, and now you're doing

25:39

an assignment, and something

25:42

about that doesn't sit right

25:42

with you, there is support out

25:44

there. It's just you're just not

25:44

being told about it. So you need

25:47

to go talk to many different

25:47

professionals until someone's

25:50

listening. And I think that's a

25:50

very big part of it. In regards

25:54

to you talking about budgeting,

25:54

I think everyone kind of knows

25:57

we need to budget but they

25:57

really don't know how to budget.

25:59

Yeah, I think a lot of it comes

25:59

down to food, actually, I've

26:03

noticed. So living in uni

26:03

accommodation, I've noticed a

26:06

lot of people do not know how to

26:06

budget and how to buy the right

26:09

foods. Whereas there was me

26:09

buying very healthy food, and

26:13

they would think I'm spending a

26:13

lot of money. But I know for a

26:15

fact that we're spending

26:15

probably a quarter of what they

26:18

were purchased, you've got to be

26:18

really smart with it. You've got

26:21

to have your little life hacks,

26:21

you've got to have your ways to

26:24

find your vouchers, find new

26:24

discounts, you definitely need

26:27

to fill your body, otherwise,

26:27

university is going to be just

26:30

as harder. Also, I think one

26:30

thing that people don't realise,

26:33

and I was one of them. If you

26:33

have a mental health condition,

26:37

technically you are eligible for

26:37

DSA, which is for disabilities.

26:41

I think technically, we just

26:41

don't think in our mind. No, you

26:44

know, if I have depression and

26:44

anxiety, I fall into the

26:46

disability criteria. I get why

26:46

you say that, I get why you

26:50

think that but you do or you are

26:50

eligible for DSA. And that's

26:53

something that you will always

26:53

find in the Student Finance

26:55

website. Yeah, apply for it, get

26:55

your support. Sometimes they can

27:00

even help you with travel, as

27:00

you said, with a laptop, with so

27:03

much more with extra time, as

27:03

you said, there's plenty and

27:07

they will even advocate for you

27:07

with your university. So

27:10

University, whatever, sort of,

27:10

as you said, you know, you can

27:13

contact your university for all

27:13

of this. That's a bonus, that's

27:17

extra support. The DSA is

27:17

technically you're right. So if

27:21

you're eligible for it, go for

27:21

it.

27:23

Yeah. And just just to jump on

27:23

what Nora was saying there, you

27:28

know, do it ASAP, as soon as you

27:28

can, you know, one of the things

27:32

that I do see, having, you know,

27:32

worked within a university is

27:37

that, you know, sometimes

27:37

processes applications can take

27:40

a long time, you know, this is

27:40

happening all across the

27:43

country. So it's something that,

27:43

you know, as soon as you can

27:46

kind of like, get involved, you

27:46

can also get assessed as well at

27:49

your university. So you don't

27:49

have not actually been assessed

27:52

already. And you're someone that

27:52

you know, thinks you potentially

27:55

might have a disability, but

27:55

you're not sure you can actually

27:58

get assessed at your university.

27:58

So, again, you know, I would

28:02

encourage all students to do

28:02

that. It's something that should

28:06

be free at your institution as

28:06

well. And I encourage every

28:10

single person, whether they're a

28:10

student, or going to be a

28:12

prospective student, or thinking

28:12

about going to university, being

28:16

in contact with your students

28:16

union is one of the most

28:18

important things that as soon as

28:18

you are a student of the

28:20

institution, you are

28:20

automatically a member of the

28:23

Students Union, one of the first

28:23

things you should be doing on

28:26

enrollment day is finding out

28:26

exactly how your students union

28:30

can support you, your students

28:30

union is vital. And one of the

28:34

things that I think sometimes

28:34

young people from marginalised

28:38

backgrounds don't always do is

28:38

it's happened to their students,

28:41

you know, they think, oh, you

28:41

know what, I go to uni, I do my

28:44

course. And then I just go home

28:44

and grind. And it's like, that's

28:48

not necessarily what uni law

28:48

should be about. It's about

28:51

trying to tap into as much

28:51

resources as possible to get the

28:54

best out of that time and

28:54

experience that you're there.

28:59

The podcast from centre by young

28:59

people, for all people. Nadi

29:06

just wanted to cross over back

29:06

to you. Obviously, you've

29:08

mentioned about sort of the

29:08

dream in your head of university

29:12

and how it's going to be live on

29:12

campus. We'll throw a laptop in

29:16

your hand. How do you how'd you

29:16

feel that Centerpointe have

29:19

prepared you for this for this

29:19

journey up till now.

29:23

So I think Centrepointe

29:23

definitely played a big role in

29:27

my I'd say motivation to pursue

29:27

further education. The manager

29:34

at the centre point I was at was

29:34

honestly the most helpful person

29:38

ever. I literally tell everyone

29:38

that she's a mother figure to me

29:42

and because I felt like

29:42

emotionally and everything she

29:45

was always there for me. So when

29:45

I had, you know, a really tough

29:48

exam to get to she would

29:48

actually sit there and talk to

29:54

me through it. Not necessarily

29:54

teach me at var kind of LM me

29:59

tips on How to manage my

29:59

emotions as well as the exam so

30:05

that my emotions don't get the

30:05

best of me to the point where

30:07

you know I have, I'm a very,

30:07

like, I overthink a lot like I

30:11

will overthink a situation way

30:11

out of proportion. So do not

30:15

panic sit and have a chat with

30:15

me. And when it came to uni,

30:20

she, like, I'd say she gave me

30:20

all the work to call me you know

30:23

what to expect, and how to

30:23

really go about things and in a

30:29

sense kind of, to me to kind of

30:29

paved the pavement for me so

30:33

that I can kind of walk on it.

30:33

And I'm very excited because I'm

30:38

an extrovert, but I've oddly got

30:38

social anxiety. So when I first

30:43

meet a brand new group of

30:43

people, I'm very, like anxious

30:48

and very, like nervous. But when

30:48

the ice is broken, or melted,

30:52

I'm the most bubbly person I was

30:52

taught. Everyone's is off summer

30:57

kind of excited to meet people

30:57

and kind of have that first aid

31:03

over and bandwidth so they can

31:03

be you know, the rest of the

31:06

next three years with some

31:06

people that I'll meet, you know,

31:10

like, potentially, my friends

31:10

forever?

31:13

Definitely. No, that's so that's

31:13

really great to hear. And if

31:17

there was obviously you

31:17

mentioned about sort of the

31:20

service manager being like a big

31:20

support for you, throughout your

31:24

journey, what is maybe one of

31:24

the something that they've maybe

31:28

said to you, that's always kind

31:28

of like a quote that's kind of

31:31

that lived with you. And it's

31:31

always been something positive

31:33

that you might want to maybe

31:33

share with the listeners as well

31:36

that you think could be

31:36

something for, for them to think

31:38

about, especially if they want

31:38

to consider going to university.

31:42

She said a lot of things to me

31:42

that have stuck with me, one of

31:45

them being that the world is my

31:45

oyster, and I can go anywhere

31:48

with it. And you know, do

31:48

whatever I want. And I think

31:51

that was one of the things he

31:51

said to me when I came to her

31:55

girl very scared about starting

31:55

college for the first time in a

32:00

few years. And I was really

32:00

overthinking everything. And I

32:04

was like, because I had, it was

32:04

pretty bad experiences in my

32:07

last college. But I was very

32:07

nervous. And she told me that

32:10

and I kind of thought to myself,

32:10

You know what? I don't have

32:13

anything to be scared about. If

32:13

I haven't tried it, you know, I

32:17

can't give feedback on something

32:17

that I don't know what it is. So

32:21

she's helped me a lot in that

32:21

sense.

32:24

No, definitely. No, that's,

32:24

that's, that's really, really

32:26

powerful. And one of the things

32:26

I would like to kind of like,

32:30

ask both of you actually, I

32:30

think it's something that I saw

32:34

during my time when I when I was

32:34

a resident of Senator point,

32:37

centre point does a lot of like

32:37

great things for young people.

32:41

And I think that however,

32:41

sometimes there are, there are

32:44

some young people that they're a

32:44

selling point that don't always

32:47

take the opportunities that are

32:47

available to them. And I

32:50

personally think sometimes, you

32:50

know, some of that comes down to

32:53

maybe what they go for at the

32:53

time, or sometimes that comes

32:56

down to a bit of self belief.

32:56

And you know, one of the things

33:00

I wanted to get across today,

33:00

especially if there's someone

33:02

that's listening to this, for

33:02

the first time, never even

33:05

thought about going uni or even

33:05

going into higher education or

33:09

even further education, one of

33:09

the things I would say is, you

33:11

know, don't be scared, put all

33:11

the fear to one side, and go for

33:16

it. And the reason why I say

33:16

that is because centre point is

33:19

a point in your life where you

33:19

do have the opportunity and the

33:22

power to actually change around

33:22

your circumstances. And

33:26

sometimes it doesn't always feel

33:26

like it's real, because you feel

33:30

like oh, you know, you're

33:30

sometimes in a place of worry,

33:33

the future doesn't always seem

33:33

clear. You know, because

33:36

sometimes, you know, you maybe know that you're in accommodation for a certain

33:38

period of time. But one of the

33:42

things I would like to get

33:42

across to anybody that's out

33:46

there listening today is that go

33:46

for what you want, and use the

33:50

services that are available and

33:50

the great staff members that are

33:53

there that can help you get to

33:53

the next step. It's about sort

33:56

of building blocks, but also

33:56

building on your potential

33:59

everyone has potential in some

33:59

sort of way. And it's about

34:01

finding that within yourself,

34:01

what you're good at what you

34:05

really like doing and being

34:05

around people that are going to

34:08

help sort of cultivate that sort

34:08

of like attitude mentality and

34:13

also like pushed your talent as

34:13

well. But I just wanted to hear

34:16

from you know, the and also know

34:16

about your perspective on what

34:21

I've said as well. So I, I think for me, personally,

34:22

my personal experience when I

34:28

first was introduced to centre

34:28

point, I was going through a

34:31

really tough time in my life. I

34:31

like to call it the bottom of

34:35

the barrel like I was at the

34:35

worst point A I felt like I lost

34:39

everything I lost myself and as

34:39

much as I was smiling in front

34:42

of people and you know, being

34:42

that happy, bubbly, Nadi I've

34:45

always been, I think inside I

34:45

was very sheltered. So when I

34:49

came to set up when I was really

34:49

scared, I couldn't trust anyone.

34:53

I didn't know who's good for me

34:53

or who's bad for me. And then I

34:57

started talking to members of

34:57

staff and honestly They were the

35:01

best people like, I will never

35:01

forget the members of staff that

35:04

I met, when I first came to the

35:04

Senate when they basically broke

35:08

my, like the wall I had, and

35:08

they told me like, you know

35:11

what, there are people out there

35:11

that actually care for you, that

35:14

will help you, you know, stop

35:14

your life and show you that is

35:19

more than before. And

35:19

Emotionally, I think they took

35:23

me over, like a really bad

35:23

place. And I don't even think I

35:26

can express this to them. Like,

35:26

as much as I want to, there's no

35:31

worse explain how much they've

35:31

literally showed me, you know,

35:34

the purpose of life. Like, I've

35:34

always been ambitious, but at

35:38

that time, in my life, I, there

35:38

was nothing, I didn't know who I

35:42

was, I didn't know what I liked,

35:42

I didn't know what I wanted to

35:44

do. But the manager and the

35:44

staff there really gave me that

35:50

sort of push to see myself and

35:50

now I feel like I am where I am.

35:55

Because they showed me that you

35:55

can be what you want. If you

35:59

actually, you know, put your

35:59

mind to it, and you let people

36:02

help you, I think that's the

36:02

most important thing to know is

36:06

that people want, they want to

36:06

help you, but they can't help if

36:10

you don't let them help you. You

36:10

know, I've seen people in

36:13

services that, you know, that

36:13

ask for help, and always by

36:17

themselves, and then they leave

36:17

the service. And a few years

36:20

later you hit or so and so is

36:20

not doing so well. And it's

36:23

like, they didn't accept the

36:23

help. And it's understandable.

36:28

You know, when you go through

36:28

certain things in life, you have

36:31

a like, blocked off everything,

36:31

and you just have to let you

36:35

have hold on to the hand. You

36:35

know, that's up to you.

36:39

So I like that. Hold on to the

36:39

hands. I like that. No, did you

36:44

do what did you want to add

36:44

anything there?

36:46

Yeah, sure. Um, I think my

36:46

experience is quite similar to

36:51

noddies. Definitely the bottom

36:51

of the barrel like it was, I was

36:54

at my worst. And I would like to

36:54

say, I've seen my worst before,

36:58

I didn't think it'd be get this

36:58

bad. But what it did, I mean, to

37:04

sum it up, centre point in the

37:04

professional though, quite

37:07

literally did save my life. I

37:07

didn't think I would be here

37:10

this year. So I was very

37:10

surprised. You know, I think

37:13

first of January, I was still

37:13

around, and then like hitting my

37:18

birthday. And that's why like,

37:18

this year, my birthday was so

37:21

important to me, I didn't think

37:21

I would be here, it wouldn't

37:25

have been possible without the

37:25

professionals I Centerpoint

37:27

100%, my key worker, the

37:27

dietician, everyone else there

37:31

they've done honestly, such good

37:31

people such good souls. And

37:36

honestly, what it's taught me is

37:36

you just really need to welcome

37:40

failure. And I'm not there yet.

37:40

Like I'm still learning and I'm

37:43

still working my way through, I

37:43

truly believe in the advice I'm

37:47

giving right now. But you really

37:47

need to welcome failure, because

37:50

otherwise you're not gonna get

37:50

anywhere, you have to fail for

37:54

you to get better. I've gotten

37:54

to that point where I sometimes

37:57

like things are going well. And

37:57

deep down like I don't mind

37:59

failing, this one is kind of

37:59

exciting, because I'm gonna get

38:01

to try hauled off. So I have a

38:01

very different than a weird

38:05

Outlook to it now. And I find

38:05

joy in the fact that I get to

38:08

try again and put my own into

38:08

again, that'd be an exam, that'd

38:11

be a little test anything, it's

38:11

good to know that I have I'm

38:15

allowed to mess up sometimes as

38:15

well. Because I think there's

38:19

this some people I can't speak

38:19

for everyone, there's this very

38:24

unrealistic moral compass that

38:24

we start living by when you've

38:27

been to one hard time. So when

38:27

when you've been through plenty,

38:31

you just think you don't have

38:31

any space to make mistakes. And

38:34

that was definitely me. And I

38:34

think my key worker definitely

38:38

taught me that I can be the 22

38:38

year old I am I can make my

38:42

mistakes, I can be silly. And

38:42

because she was never worried

38:47

about me making the big

38:47

mistakes. So he was like, you

38:49

know, live a little. And she was

38:49

always very, she I think she

38:52

brought my childhood back to me,

38:52

which I never I would say never

38:55

had. So she has been so so

38:55

amazing. And I definitely do

39:00

resonate with what Nadi said

39:00

like as she was definitely like

39:03

a mother figure to me, like,

39:03

looking back now. Like when I'm

39:07

doing my dissertation, I keep

39:07

thinking about her. And I'm

39:09

like, I want to invite her to my

39:09

graduation. Like I wouldn't be

39:13

here without her. She's seen me

39:13

through so so much. And for me,

39:18

the thing was, I was so bad in

39:18

certain parts of my life, I

39:22

couldn't really be pushed. Like

39:22

I could hear her voice and I

39:25

knew she knows there's nothing

39:25

to push her. There's nothing to

39:28

encourage her up. This is just

39:28

her right now. But that was the

39:32

best part that she stuck by me

39:32

through those horrific months.

39:37

Like she didn't demand change

39:37

for me. She knew it was bad. So

39:40

she was like, alright, it's bad.

39:40

I'm gonna sit with you and we'll

39:43

go through it together. And I

39:43

think that's why I appreciate it

39:46

so so much from her. So looking

39:46

forward now, definitely always

39:50

welcome failure, get comfortable

39:50

with it, because you're gonna

39:54

see it. You were very critical

39:54

people you know, as humans.

39:58

You're going to Find failure in

39:58

your life anyways. So why are

40:02

you so upset about? Like, just

40:02

welcome. It's okay. And

40:07

honestly, it made university so

40:07

much better for me if it wasn't

40:10

for her, I wouldn't have

40:10

graduated from even my second

40:13

year, let alone did my

40:13

dissertation today. So honestly,

40:16

all props go to her. And I'm so

40:16

grateful for.

40:20

That's great. I hope that they

40:20

listened to this as well, I

40:22

hope. literally an hour after I got a

40:26

call for the podcast, she called

40:29

me and she said, I'm so excited

40:29

to listen to. I was like, it's

40:33

not today. I'm so excited. She

40:33

wants to turn fine.

40:39

That's excellent. That's

40:39

excellent. Yeah, I think lastly,

40:43

because I know, we're gonna

40:43

we're gonna wrap up shortly. But

40:46

I think you know, one of the

40:46

things that many university

40:49

students have said to me, during

40:49

my time in higher education is

40:52

that, you know, getting through

40:52

the three is getting through the

40:56

dissertation. Yes, it has been

40:56

sometimes for some people, it's

40:59

been one of the hardest things

40:59

to do in their life, but, but

41:02

also I think, getting through it

41:02

has made them feel that I can do

41:05

anything. And I think, you know,

41:05

yes, going to university is a

41:09

challenge. But it's an exciting

41:09

challenge, you know, and I think

41:13

as long as you sort of like able

41:13

to access the support, find out

41:17

where you could get that helping

41:17

hands, and, and find a community

41:21

of friends that you can be

41:21

involved with. Ultimately, you

41:27

will have an amazing time at

41:27

university. And whenever you

41:31

might feel that sometimes you

41:31

can't make it or you're feeling

41:35

a bit down, there is always

41:35

something or someone that is

41:38

there to help you. I think

41:38

personally, like, the journey is

41:42

what you make it ultimately the

41:42

podcast from centre by young

41:47

people, for all people. While

41:47

we're coming to the closing

41:52

stages now, and I just wanted to

41:52

find out from both of you, what

41:57

was the reason why you chose

41:57

your course or, you know, I'm

41:59

really curious to know, like,

41:59

the reasons behind there, and

42:03

and what you hope to go on once

42:03

you've got your degree. So at

42:07

first I will, from when I was a,

42:07

as my memory starts to be

42:12

honest, I've always wanted to

42:12

have a profession where I help

42:15

people. And then at some point

42:15

in my life, I really wanted to

42:19

be a detective, I wanted to

42:19

bring justice to the world and

42:22

all of that stuff. And that's

42:22

before, you know, I started

42:24

realising that, hey, I need to

42:24

figure me out before I can help

42:27

someone else. And in the process

42:27

of me being helped and you know,

42:31

figure myself out. I tried to go

42:31

to therapy and get, you know,

42:36

help for the unspoken things

42:36

that I've been through, I guess.

42:40

But I found that the therapy

42:40

that I was getting, I couldn't

42:44

relate to any of my therapists,

42:44

I've had a few. And I thought

42:47

that because they, in a sense,

42:47

didn't go through what I went

42:51

through, or I felt like they

42:51

just didn't understand me and

42:54

they didn't understand the help

42:54

that I needed and the

42:56

professional help that they

42:56

were, I guess taught to give. It

43:00

wasn't personalised to me. So

43:00

then, at some point, I think it

43:04

was maybe the year before last

43:04

year, I realised I want to be a

43:09

therapist for young people so

43:09

that I somewhat can relate to

43:15

them and I could give them a

43:15

help that is more individualised

43:18

and customised to their personal

43:18

needs. So that's what I'm

43:21

starting counselling. However, I

43:21

do want to work in the more

43:26

gruesome side. And I want to

43:26

work with serial killers and

43:30

know why serial killers think

43:30

the way they think and what form

43:34

has led to that. So it's a bit

43:34

of both, I guess, because I've

43:37

chosen will open those votes for

43:37

me.

43:40

Good. Well, I'm sure I'm sure

43:40

that I'm sure the journey is

43:42

going to be going to be really,

43:42

really great. And I'm curious to

43:45

find out so you definitely have

43:45

to send in math to do a

43:48

dissertation for Senator point,

43:48

you know? How about you know,

43:54

I'm just so excited. It's just

43:54

her noddy's reasons and her

43:57

first the whole thing. I love

43:57

it. I love her. She's so honest

44:00

about it. Like I'm what the

44:00

serial killers when I was a

44:03

little girl. You know, my

44:03

passion. I love that for you,

44:07

honestly, and I'm so excited for

44:07

you. And hearing everything from

44:11

Maddie has been amazing. For me,

44:11

growing up in foster care, I

44:16

like hit 1617 and my whole

44:16

career path changed. I wanted to

44:20

be a neurosurgeon my whole life

44:20

and I was like, Okay, I'm going

44:24

into medicine. I'm doing it. My

44:24

mom was super supportive. She

44:27

said, You choose your career,

44:27

I'll pave the way. And then at

44:30

16 I call her off and unlike

44:30

Mom, there's a problem. She said

44:33

what I say think of what I do

44:33

social workers have done and

44:36

I've had that dilemma for a year

44:36

and she's thinking to me Are you

44:39

kidding me? I thought you wanted

44:39

to go into medicine. I planned

44:42

your life after the I know I'm

44:42

doing social work. So for me the

44:47

council that was looked after

44:47

weird like that was like my

44:50

second home I was always there

44:50

doing some weird work experience

44:53

was so many professionals New

44:53

Media already. So it just it was

44:58

destiny for me I would say I

44:58

think social work just taught me

45:02

so much about myself. That was

45:02

so important to me. It naturally

45:06

complements my personality, but

45:06

it gave me very good boundaries

45:09

and taught me how to, you know,

45:09

pick the right people for

45:12

myself, as Nancy said,

45:12

Centerpointe kind of reminds us

45:16

of things just shows you things

45:16

that you probably didn't think

45:19

what problems and even the

45:19

centre point did that for me, it

45:22

goes hand in hand with my

45:22

course. So it's just been

45:25

amazing. And I'm so excited to

45:25

finish and actually be

45:28

practising. Brilliant. And just just lastly,

45:29

before I round up, how'd you

45:33

feel that your placement when in

45:33

order for you to because you

45:37

spoke about obviously getting

45:37

the job now, but how useful or

45:40

beneficial was your placement? I mean, I'll be honest, my

45:42

advice is gonna sound super

45:45

weird, and probably mean to ever

45:45

listen to it. But I'm helping

45:50

them I promise you. Yeah, I hope

45:50

you get problems in your

45:53

placement. Honestly, no, it's

45:53

the best thing ever. I did my

45:58

first placement and there was

45:58

one problem. And because I think

46:02

your 20s, you think you've got

46:02

yourself figured out, you have

46:04

no clue who you are. And that's

46:04

very hard to deal with. Because

46:08

everyone around you puts

46:08

responsibilities on you, you're

46:11

adulting, it's very hard being

46:11

in placement, I hope people have

46:15

a little bit of a problem here

46:15

and there. Because that's when

46:18

you get to decide the kind of

46:18

person you want to be. Those are

46:21

my little tests where I had to

46:21

stand up for myself. And I did

46:24

that. And I, I say that it's

46:24

good that it's in placement.

46:27

Because you've got University

46:27

backing you, you've got your

46:30

legal team from the University,

46:30

your personal tutor, if you're

46:34

lucky, your supervisor, practice

46:34

educator from the placement. And

46:37

you need that. So you've got

46:37

that army. And I would stand up

46:41

for myself very confidently,

46:41

because I have someone to rely

46:43

on. That was my support system.

46:43

So I hope everyone takes

46:47

advantage of that stand up for

46:47

yourself, do not do that thing

46:50

while you're thinking, Oh, it's

46:50

a 70 day placement. Let me just,

46:53

you know, brush this off, know

46:53

why no one's going to fight for

46:57

you if you don't fight for

46:57

yourself. When I wasn't happy

47:00

with something I raised that and

47:00

I was respected and appreciated

47:03

for that. And it's nice to be

47:03

acknowledged for standing up for

47:06

yourself professionally. Well, wise words said. Really?

47:08

Well listen, no and nadie. It's

47:14

been a pleasure having this

47:14

podcast with you today.

47:18

Unfortunately, it's time to

47:18

bring the podcast to a close.

47:22

It's been a great an interesting

47:22

discussion. And I think it'd be

47:25

really helpful for those

47:25

starting higher education, or

47:28

for those who are playing as

47:28

well. One of the things I would

47:31

just like to say to everybody

47:31

considering taking up a

47:34

university pays off for those

47:34

who have got their grades. First

47:37

of all, congratulations. Second

47:37

of all, go for it. Going to

47:40

University is a life changing

47:40

opportunity, and can give you a

47:45

perspective of life that you may

47:45

not be able to get anywhere

47:48

else. So I would implore you to

47:48

take that journey, and make the

47:52

most of it. And I think it'd be

47:52

a great opportunity now just to

47:56

go around and hear some final

47:56

thoughts from both nadie. And

47:59

Nora, I just wanted to say this

48:00

podcast was absolutely amazing.

48:04

And thank you so much more for

48:04

giving me a few of your top tips

48:08

and hacks. I think that's helped

48:08

me a lot. And I'm really excited

48:12

to start this new chapter. And I

48:12

hope that the upcoming years of

48:17

my uni life of great and that

48:17

they stand up to my

48:22

expectations, because this very

48:22

low expectation is stuck with me

48:26

and I will be hoping to achieve

48:26

that. So thank you guys so much

48:31

for having me. It's been a pleasure being here with you guys. And

48:34

likewise, it's been a pleasure

48:34

meeting everyone here and having

48:38

this discussion. I'm really

48:38

excited to hear more about

48:42

things like this. And hopefully

48:42

this really does help a lot of

48:44

people. And it was just so nice

48:44

to hear from Nadi, I'm so

48:48

excited for you. Honestly, I

48:48

think you're gonna do amazing.

48:51

As you said, you've seen enough

48:51

real life, this is nothing for

48:54

you. Uni is going to be fun. And

48:54

for everyone else who's

48:57

listening, don't let the stress

48:57

get to you. Try to be in the

49:01

present and enjoy it and praise

49:01

yourself for how far you've come

49:04

to not forget that. And lastly, and not to forget,

49:06

please plug the podcast to your

49:10

friends tell a friend to tell a

49:10

friend as they say, and we look

49:14

forward to seeing you on the next one. If you want more information,

49:17

then visit our blog at

49:21

www.centerpointe.org/blog. Don't

49:21

forget Centerpoint offers free

49:28

advice via the centerpoint

49:28

helpline to anyone aged 16 to

49:33

25. who is homeless or at risk

49:33

of homelessness. Call us free on

49:41

Oh 808-800-0661 We're open

49:41

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. You

49:51

can also leave us a message on our [email protected]

49:52

slash you of homelessness slash

50:02

get help now