I am a BSc nursing student in my third year, I have done various volunteering over the past few years. I decided that I wanted to do some extra volunteering in my spare time that would help others in the preparation to higher education as I didn’t receive guidance from those who were at university at the time and I didn’t really know what to expect before I started university.

I attended a meeting with the volunteer team who were great in finding me something that I could do from the comfort of my own home. If you have decided that you want to take part in volunteering but are unsure of what is out there, then it is worth booking a meeting with one of the members of staff.

The company that I volunteer with is ‘Brightside’ who are an organisation who offer mentoring to young people to make informed choices about their future. The role that I have been doing for the last few months is mentoring year 12’s in decisions about their higher education. The role involves encouraging them to make decisions, guiding them on resources that can help them further and answering their questions.

By volunteering with Brightside, it has allowed those young people in college or sixth form get more of an understanding on what higher education involves and the process of getting there in the first place. It has given them the opportunity to discuss their questions, which can be a lot because university itself and the process can be a bit daunting for those who are coming up to applying.

From volunteering with Brightside, it has allowed me to share my experiences and my point of view to those who will be applying soon. I’m hoping that the young people will have gained more of an insight and that I was able to answer their questions.

You should get involved with this organisation because there are many different projects that they offer to young people to achieve their potential. Mentoring is very fulfilling and rewarding when you help the young people with their goals and aims from the project.